The Lady Musketeer
by bellydancer10
Summary: 2011 movie verse. What if D'Artagnan was a girl?  Please give it a chance.  An event leads young Adeline to go on an adventure that could possibly turn her into the one thing she always wanted. Possible pairings: Buckingham/OC and Athos/OC.
1. Prologue Pt 1: The d'Artagnan Family

**A/N: Hi, I recently read The Three Musketeers book due to the latest version of the movie that came out this year. I have read the book and I thought it was a very great book, but I was given an idea while I was reading the book and anticipating for the movie to come out, I came up with one of those 'what if the main character's gender was reversed?' I know, I know! It's not as good as the original with D'Artagnan, but please just give it a chance. I am going to try to keep it almost like the book as possible, but this is mostly going to be movie-versed from the 2011 version with a twist of the Disney version. However, I HATED the Disney version, so I am going to lean towards more to the 2011 version.**

**My character's name is Adeline d'Artagnan (I made d'Artagnan the last name, so I can somehow keep the name), and I named her Adeline because I wanted to give my character a name that meant noble in some way because I perceived D'Artagnan as a very noble man, so I gave my character Adeline, which means "little noble." The pairing is going to be the Duke of Buckingham (George)/Adeline (or not it just depends on the movie). I thought of Athos/Adeline, but I do not believe I would be able to do that. If D'Artagnan had been a girl, I would have seen the relationship as a father-daughter sort of relationship, even though Athos was wary of women in the book. I believe if the story developed, then I think Athos would begin to see women in a different light. The Duke of Buckingham is a bad guy in the 2011 version, so Buckingham is going to be a bad guy in here, but he does become a good guy later (Or not, it just all depends on what happens in the next movie). Before I am to begin, though, a Duke does make an appearance in the next chapter, but this is not the same Duke of Buckingham from the book or the movie, it is his son that will be the Duke of Buckingham from the movie and book.**

**Also, Gérard makes an appearance in here, but I am sooooooo not making him like he was in the Disney movie, he drove me insane in there! I am changing his voice and appearance 'cause, gosh, the voice annoyed me so! I am probably gonna make him look more like a jerk, but still seem very childish at the same time.**

**Summary: Adeline has always been considered a very spirited woman, even as a little girl, and has dreams of becoming a musketeer like her father, but as a woman, of course, she cannot be one. She has been in the care of both her mother and uncle ever since her father died when she was only three, and has been trained by her uncle to be the best swordswoman there ever was in history, but with Adeline 19 and no husband and her uncle getting sicker and sicker as the days go by, she is to wed G**érard Leroy, her arch nemesis. But when the Comte de Rochefort comes in, invades her home, and kills her uncle, Adeline has sworn vegence on him. Going to Paris to search for Rochefort, she ends up running into the three legendary musketeers known as The Inseparables and they all discover a plot to overthrow the King of France. Teaming up with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, Adeline tries to stop the evil, treacherous Milady de Winter and her employer from engulfing the whole world into war and destroying the very nation of France. Will Adeline and the three legendary musketeers be able to stop them in time?****

****Rated: M, just to be safe for about now for violence, language, and possibly sex scenes later.****

****Timeline: 17th century.****

****I do not own any of the characters from Summit Entertainment or Disney, except for Adeline and a few others I made in this story, Alexandre Dumas, Paul Anderson, and Stephen Herek owns the rest.****

****I do not remember much of the book, so if I make a mistake from the book or make an historic mistake, let me know and I will fix it. Criticism is welcomed, but I ask you all to do it in a respectful and mature way. If you cannot do what I ask for, then I will ask you not to review because I find it very rude and disrespectful and very immature when you don't tell me these things in a mature way. Just to warn you, though, this is a VERY long prologue, so it is going to be split into two parts.****

****Hope you enjoy it.****

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Prologue Part One: T<strong>__**h**__**e d'Artagnan Family**_

_Adeline never felt so much anger in her short years of life that it would have probably shocked her ancestors to see such anger in such a young girl._

_With one hand grabbing at the color of Gérard's yellow velvet shirt, she brought her other hand down into a fist, having it collide with Gérard's face. She could hear bones cracking and see blood flowing out from his nose and mouth, but Adeline could not find it in herself to stop. The adrenaline rushing through her veins just egged her on and only made her pound harder into Gérard's face that she continued to be completely deaf to the sound of Henri's cries to stop and the shouts of his warning that her mother and Gérard's mother were approaching. It took Adeline's mother some difficulty to get her child off of Gérard because, for a girl her age and size, she was very strong._

_"Adeline, you will get off of that boy this instance or face serious consequences!" Adeline's mother shouted._

_It was the voice of her mother that suddenly brought Adeline out of her adrenaline rush and back into reality, giving her mother enough time to get her off and away from Gérard. Adeline really did not regret what she did to the boy as she looked at his black and blue and bloody face with disdain, but what she did regret was getting caught._

_Madame Médée Leroy, Gérard's mother, looked over her son and the damage Adeline did before turning her attention to Adeline herself, looking none too happy with her at that moment. "How **dare** you do this to my son!" screeched Madame Médée Leroy._

_"Madame Leroy, I am very sorry about this—" Adeline's mother, Céline d'Artagnan, began._

_"You better have that devil child of yours apologize to my son this instance," Madame Leroy said._

_"I not apologize to him," Adeline exclaimed before her mother could even respond. Céline groaned, rolling her eyes up to the heavens and saying a silent prayer, '**Lord, how does a three-year-old girl ever become this high-strung?'**_

_Adeline's retort towards Madame Leroy only infuriated the grown lady even more. Her face was turning so red that it made her look like a plump, cherry tomato her family grew in the fields, in Adeline's opinion. "Madame d'Artagnan, I expect an apology from your daughter to my son at once or your whole family will face the consequences," Madame Leroy said. "I am not a very patient woman, so if I do not hear an apology from your child soon, then your husband will be hearing from my husband."_

_"Madame Leroy," Céline began, trying to reason with her, "my husband is out of town, but he will be back by mid afternoon today…"_

_"Well, if your daughter does not apologize, then my husband will talk to yours as soon as he gets here," Madame Leroy said, interrupting Céline once again._

_Céline, though finding it quite rude of Madame Leroy interrupting her like that, tried to keep her composure and said, "Yes, Madame, I will make sure she apologizes right away. Just give me a minute to talk with her, please?"_

_Although Madame Leroy was not patient enough to delay any longer, she let Céline talk to her daughter. As soon as Céline took Adeline off to the side, Adeline began speaking,_

_"Maman, I not apologize to him, he's a big meanie! He call Henri bad names and say mean things to me."_

_"Adeline, that still does not give you the right to go and nearly beat the boy to death!" Céline said. "What were you thinking, going off and beating a boy from a noble family, especially the Leroy boy? It is very rude…" '**No matter how rude they may seem…**' Céline added in her own head before continuing, "and you have dishonored the family name by going and beating up someone from a noble family, and it is not lady-like! I want you to go up to Gérard and apologize to him right now, young lady!"_

_Adeline gave her mother a determined look and crossed her arms, standing her ground to her mother. "I not apologize 'til he does," she said._

_"Adeline, do not start this with me…"_

_"I not apologize 'til he does!" Adeline said again in a more firm tone._

_"Do you want to stay in your room for the rest of the day until your father gets here and takes care of this?" Céline warned._

_"But, maman—"_

_"Now, Adeline!"_

_"No!"_

_Céline could feel herself getting quite aggravated with her daughter, but she restrained herself from doing anything she regretted. "Go to your room now, Adeline, and stay there until your father gets here to deal with you," she ordered._

_"I hate you!" Adeline shouted before running into the house._

_Céline sighed. '**Lord, what am I going to do with this child? She certainly did not get this stubbornness from me…**' she thought as her mind drifted off to a certain musketeer. Céline then turned her attention away from her running daughter to Madame Leroy and her son and, to not the least of her surprise, she could see Madame Leroy fuming with rage. After living in the Gascony neighborhood for a long time and being once a best friend to Médée, Céline has come to known Médée very well._

_Céline has known Médée ever since they were both infants. Both women had grown up the life of luxury, but one of them had walked away from that life a long time ago—that person being Céline d'Artagnan. Céline had a father and mother who were once members of the royal court to King Henry III and Louise of Lorraine. Louise of Lorraine was never proclaimed Queen of France, but King Henry III did grant her to have ladies in waiting. Médée Leroy, formally known as Médée Dericroux before marrying her husband Pierre Leroy, grew up as the daughter of a rich merchant who often traded items for the King of France, so both women had grown up in the royal court and have come to known their habits. The two women were once the best of friends and often did a lot of things together, such as flirting with other men of the royal court and going out to balls, dancing with every man there was there, talking about what and who they expected to marry when they got older._

_Of course, as a girl in a very high-class status, both girls were expected to marry at a very young age, but the only thing was that Céline did not get married until she was at least twenty one years of age while Médée married at the young age of sixteen and was already having sons with her husband. Céline's parents tried to get her to marry these men that seemed too old or not handsome or charming enough in Céline's eyes, and it was not at least until Céline was nearly about to turn twenty that she met a foreign man named George Villiers, a Duke from England—the Duke of Buckingham—at a ball. It was the next day after that when the Duke approached Céline's parents and proclaimed undenying love for their daughter. Although Céline was a French woman and the Duke an English man, Céline's father and mother, and even Médée, had approved of the pairing and agreed. Céline was very flattered by the man's affections and was excited of receiving such attention from such a rich and handsome man, the only problem was that the man was a widow with a five year old son who was named George as well. Céline was uncomfortable with the thought of having to marry someone who already had a son, which meant she would have to be a stepmother; plus, she would have to move to England away from her family and friends. She did not want to feel as if she was replacing the boy's mother because even she could see the boy's reluctance of their marriage, and she would miss France very much. As time went by, though, she felt a little more relaxed of the thought of having to marry the Duke, for he was quite charming and very handsome, making it seem as if being a stepmother to his son and moving to England to meet new people was not so bad. She (and her parents and Médée) thought that the match could not have been more perfect…until she met that musketeer._

_It was not until a few months later, after the Duke's engagement proposal, at another ball when Céline met Bertrand d'Artagnan, her now current husband. It was during that time when Henry IV became king of France. Things were very hostile during this time since King Henry IV was a Protestant and was the subject of many assassinations, so he made his own personal bodyguards known as the musketeers. When first meeting Bertrand d'Artagnan, Céline did not believe he could be a musketeer, for he was far too handsome and too charming to be one of those "disgraceful, dishonorable soldiers of the King's bodyguards," as her mother and father had said, or "pathetic excuse of men," as her fiancé always said; but staring at the most beautiful man she had ever seen in all her life, Céline was proved wrong when she saw him dressed in that blue tunic with the fleur di leis symbol on it. Ever since then, things just went downhill from there…_

_Firstly, Céline began to question everything: about her life, what she wanted, what she thought was best for her from her parents' perspective, and mostly her feelings. The Duke was charming and offered everything in the world, but Céline suddenly felt as if 'the world' was not enough anymore, she wanted something much more than that, and Bertrand was just the man to give her that. Sure, the Duke did say he loved her, but he only showed his love through gifts. She often longed for her fiancé to look at her in the eye and tell her he loved her, but he never did. It was only Bertrand that did not show his love with only just gifts._

_Secondly, her thought-to-be-friend Médée began to see Céline's inner turmoil and her feelings for Bertrand. Médée was having troubles with her husband since he was not fulfilling all of her..._**_needs_**_, so she took advantage of the situation. She began to seduce Bertrand, hurting Céline in the process, and the worst part was that Bertrand began to fall for it. It had hurt Céline that Médée would do such a thing, considering Médée knew that she had feelings for Bertrand and that Bertrand was in love with her friend. Céline began to realize that Médée was no longer her friend, especially after she toyed and broke Bertrand's heart, for Céline could see that the man loved her friend dearly at that time. It angered her that her once-friend did such a thing just so she could have a little fun since her husband was too busy to spend time with her. It was disgraceful! It took some time before Bertrand could finally get over Médée and that is when he began to see Céline in a whole new different light and fall for her, but that had been the time when Céline was to be married off to the Duke soon. Céline, however, could not hide her feelings from Bertrand and it was then she realized she would rather live a life of poverty with a man she loved than a life of security with a man who offered everything else but not his love._

_And thirdly, she lost her love and respect to her most beloved parents. The affair she had with Bertrand become public, no thanks to Médée, and her parents forbid her from ever seeing Bertrand again. The Duke felt very much betrayed and would not talk to Céline for weeks after that, and it took all Céline's courage to go up and lie to the Duke, by the order of her parents, saying that Bertrand had seduced her. But Céline found the courage to stick up to her parents one night and go up to Bertrand, claiming her love and wishing to marry him instead. This had brought up a scandal to the whole court, though, and her parents were not too thrilled about being disgraced even further all because their now imprudent daughter refused her parents' wishes to marry the Duke. Since then, Céline's parents had shunned her and had never talked to her since._

_Céline and Médée had later gone their separate ways once Céline and Bertrand were both married, with Médée going back to Gascony with her husband and three sons and Céline staying in Paris with her husband. The first few years of Céline and Bertrand's marriage did not start very good, for they had very little money to pay the mortgage bills and Céline already had three miscarriages while Médée already given birth to three more boys. Céline feared she would never get pregnant, eventually destroying her marriage with her beloved husband, until she finally got pregnant again the fourth year of her marriage. Bertrand desired to have a son more than anything, but Adeline had been born instead, but their daughter has been much of a blessing to their marriage, and Bertrand was wrapped around her little finger, just like all fathers were when it came to their daughters. After a while, Céline had wanted to move back to Gascony, so her child could live a quiet life, and Bertrand complied, taking her to his father's farm in Gascony with all three of them: her, Adeline, Bertrand, and Bertrand's brother Damien d'Artagnan._

_Once Céline moved back to Gascony, Médée began to visit her more often, trying to "reconcile their friendship" as she said, but Céline would have none of it. Médée was often very rude to Céline and scorned her for choosing such a "lowly lifestyle." Médée did not much like Adeline as well since she was not very "lady-like," and it was no surprise to Céline that Médée become angry by the fact her daughter refused to apologize to her son for beating him up, for she was all about etiquette and manners when it came to children._

_Médée pursed her lips and taking a hold of Gérard's hand, she said to Céline, "You shall be hearing from my husband soon." And she left before Céline could even bid her goodbye._

_Céline then turned her attention to Henri, her daughter's best friend, who was a year older than Adeline. Being rather shy and different from the other boys in the neighborhood, Henri stood there, staring at her with fearful eyes._

_"Am I in trouble too, Madame d'Artagnan?" he asked._

_"No, Henri," Céline said with an affectionate smile, for she has come to love Henri almost as she could love him as her own son. "The only one in trouble is Adeline. You run along and go to your parents."_

_"Will I be able to see Adeline tomorrow?"_

_"It will all depend on what her father says, mon chéri," Céline responded. "Now, go home."_

_"Au revoir, Madame d'Artagnan," Henri said before turning on his heel and running off home._

* * *

><p><em>It was later that day around 3 o'clock when two men on two great steeds came riding into view. The two men were wearing the blue musketeer tunic with a pair of black trousers and traveling boots. Their swords were hitting at their sides as their horses galloped towards the farm.<em>

_From far away, people would think that the two men looked alike, but when they looked closer they could see the two men looked entirely different._

_Bertrand d'Artagnan, also known as Monsieur d'Artagnan, was seen as more tall and handsome with hazel eyes and a heart-shaped face with a mustache that curled at the ends, and he had dark brown hair that came down to his broad shoulders. Bertrand d'Artagnan was considered a noble and generous, but fierce man, especially in battle, which is what earned him the reputation as one of the greatest and well-known musketeers in all of Paris, but he was also a family man as well who loved his wife and daughter dearly, no matter how much the latter was a bit of a troublemaker._

_Damien d'Artagnan was the younger brother of Bertrand, and he was the more gentle one—possibly the most forgiving one, too. Damien had a heart-shaped face as well with dark brown hair that it almost looked black and brown eyes and just like Bertrand and many other men of the 17th century, Damien had a mustache, but the ends did not curl like his brother's did. Damien was also a bit more slender than most musketeers and was often teased for looking slender, but, despite the outward appearance, Damien was really strong and fierce in battle. He was even fiercer, though, when it came to protecting his family. Often, Damien would try to keep his brother out of fights since he was the reasonable and the less hot-headed one than Bertrand was._

_"How do you think that daredevil child of yours is doing, brother?" Damien asked as they galloped closer to the farm, a smirk forming on his face as he turned to Bertrand._

_"Damien, you know as well as I do that my daughter is too much like me, so I know by the time I greet my wife, she is going to greet me back with a very stern look and tell me of all the bad things my daughter has done," Bertrand said. "And I am betting most of it has to do with that Gérard boy."_

_Damien chuckled. "I do not doubt you for a minute, Bertrand," he said. "She has so much of your wild spirit that no man will be able to tie her down. You better give her a good husband when the time is ready for her to get married."_

_At these words, Bertrand's expression darkened, but it was not because of the thought of seeing his little girl married to some random boy, but it was mostly because the words had reminded him of a letter he received in Paris two days ago before he was to leave. Damien seemed to notice the change of his brother's mood, for his face was filled with concern._

_"Bertrand, whatever is the matter?"_

_"Nothing, Damien, it is nothing to worry about right now, I will tell you when the time is right," Bertrand responded before galloping faster to his house, leaving a concerned and confused Damien behind._

_If Damien knew his brother well, then he knew that Bertrand was hiding something because the last time he said he would talk about what is on his mind later, the reaction turned out pretty bad with what he had to say. Deciding not to worry about what was wrong with his brother now, Damien urged his horse forward to go faster and catch up to him._

_Céline had seen the riders approach the house from the kitchen window and her smile had brightened on her face as she recognized the blue tunics on the two men, especially one in particular. She stopped what she had been doing and ran out of the front door to greet her husband and brother-in-law. Bertrand d'Artagnan was the love of her life, and Céline did not know what she would do without him. Although he could be quite the gambler and a heavy drinker just like every other musketeer was, Bertrand was a good father and husband to his wife and child, and Céline could not have asked for anything better, not even while Médée Leroy kept on criticizing her for leaving the luxury life._

_"My love, you are finally home!" Céline cried as she ran into her husband's arms, embracing him._

_"If I get a greeting like this everytime I come back home, then maybe I ought to leave more often," Bertrand said smilingly, embracing his wife back._

_"And leave me to tame that devil child of yours all by myself? I do not think so," Céline said._

_Bertrand chuckled before leaning down and kissing his wife on the lips with such passion as if he had not seen her in a real long time._

_"Damien, it's so wonderful to see you!" Céline cried to her brother-in-law once her husband released her, kissing her brother-in-law on both cheeks._

_"It is good to see you, sister. How has my niece behaved while we were away?" Damien asked. When Damien asked that question, Céline's expression had changed from happy to a somewhat annoyed one so quickly that it did not go unnoticed by either Damien or Bertrand._

_Bertrand sighed exasperatedly and said, "What did she do this time?"_

_"That daughter of yours is so much like you in more ways than one, mon amour," Céline responded. "She has your stubborn streak, is hard-headed and feisty, and not to mention she has your wit, too."_

_"But, ma chérie, is that not why you fell for me?" Bertrand said sarcastically, earning a glare from his wife. "I appreciate the love you have for me, but that did not really answer my question."_

_"Your daughter beat up a boy two years her age today, that Gérard boy—Médée's son," Céline answered, "and she refused to apologize to him after that."_

_"Gérard? As in Gérard Leroy, Pierre Leroy's son?" _Bertrand said in astonishment. He has known Gérard Leroy and has seen him and was surprised to hear of his daughter beating him up. The boy was pretty huge for his age.__

_"Yes."_

_"How badly was the boy beaten?"_

_"To the point where he would have bruises all over his face by the end of the day," Céline responded._

_"Did she get any bruises?"_

_"Not even a scratch!"_

_"By God, that child is definitely like her father," Damien said._

_Despite his daughter's imprudence, Bertrand could not help smiling a bit with pride, much to the disapproval of his wife. "Do not encourage this, Bertrand, Adeline is to be punished by the time Monsieur Leroy gets here," Céline said._

_"Of course, amour, but where is my daughter? I would very much like to see her beautiful face, even if it won't be a joyous reunion…"_

_"She is in her room, waiting for you," Céline said, pointing to the window on the right that was on the second floor._

_Bertrand started walking to the house, leaving sister and brother-in-law alone together. He walked up the wooden steps and down the hallway to his daughter's bedroom door. Once he got there, he stood in front of his daughter's bedroom door in silence for a while before he knocked._

_"Adeline? Ma chérie, it's me, your papa," he said._

_"Go away!" came Adeline's response from the other side of the door._

_"Are you not going to greet your père?" Bertrand asked._

_"I say go away!" came the stubborn reply from his daughter._

_Not complying with his daughter's wishes, Bertrand opened the door and was greeted with a huge lump under the covers on the bed that was by the window._

_"Adeline?"_

_Bertrand closed the door after him before approaching and sitting on the edge of the bed._

_"Adeline, it's me, darling, why won't you come out and greet your father?"_

_"'Cause I know maman sent you up here to punish me," Adeline said._

_"Now what gave you that idea?"_

_"I not be stupid!" Adeline suddenly cried, throwing the covers off of her, showing how red her eyes were, evidence that she had been crying. "I not stupid! I hear maman say she get you to punish me when you get home."_

_Bertrand was a bit surprised to find his daughter crying because Adeline normally would take the punishment if it was fair, but she would start crying whenever the punishment seemed very unfair to her. Whatever happened between her and Gèrard, Adeline must have thought there was some justice in what she did and believed she was being punished unfairly. Bertrand never did like to see his daughter cry, he preferred to see that beautiful smile on her face so he could see her emerald green eyes light up like fire. Bertrand began to wonder, though, how Adeline was able to beat up a boy who was two years her age and how he was not able to find a single scratch on her. Looking at the child, Bertrand was reminded a lot of his wife with the emerald green eyes, pale complexion, and her face, but she also had her father's dark brown hair. However, Adeline had too much of his spirit, so Bertrand was reminded a lot of himself when he was younger._

_"Well, I am here, am I not?" Bertrand said to his daughter._

_"Yes."_

_"Am I punishing you now?"_

_"No, but you will!"_

_Bertrand chuckled. '**Céline was right, she does have her father's wit.**'_

_"Nothing gets past you, does it, ma chérie?" he asked. The only response Bertrand got from his daughter was her going back under the covers. "Adeline, please tell me what happened with Gérard, I promise I will not get mad."_

_"Yes you will!"_

_"Adeline, I swear by a musketeer's oath that I will not get mad at you."_

_Bertrand knew that the musketeer's oath would work because Adeline could never resist the musketeer's oath and, sure enough, it did. Slowly, she got up and threw the covers off of her and turned to her father, keeping her head down, refusing to look at him in the eye._

_"Come, my child, be brave for me and bring that pretty little face of yours up so I can see those beautiful green eyes of yours."_

_Slowly and reluctantly, the child did._

_"There, that's better! Now, tell me what happened?"_

_"Papa, 'eward deserved it, he be a big meanie to me and Henri!" Adeline exclaimed._

_"And, pray tell me, darling, how is it that an innocent boy like Gérard Leroy would be such a "big meanie" to you and Henri?" Bertrand said in a teasing tone, making his daughter pout in anger and cross her arms across her chest in annoyance._

_"He not be innocent, he be a big meanie!"_

_"I know, ma chérie, I was merely teasing you," Bertrand said, chuckling, "go on."_

_"'Eward be a big meanie to me and Henri 'cause he say mean things to us."_

_"Like what?"_

_"Like he call Henri a bookworm and he call me a girl!"_

_Bertrand's eyebrows quirked up in interest, a bit confused that his daughter would get mad at a boy for calling her by her right gender. "But, Adeline, you are a girl…"_

_"Don't call me that, papa!" Adeline suddenly shouted as tears began to brim in her eyes again._

_Bertrand was surprised as much as he was confused, wondering why his daughter was getting so upset by being called by her gender. "Ma chérie, I do not understand unless you tell me what happened, so please tell me what happened between you and Gérard?" he asked. It was then that Adeline began to sob outloud, alarming her father. Whatever happened between the two children must have been serious enough to make Adeline cry this badly._

_"'Eward say girls not fight. He also say girls not be a musketeer 'cause girls not fight!" Adeline said. "Papa, please tell me it not be true! Please tell me girls be musketeers too and fight too! I want to be a musketeer like you, papa…"_

_'**Oohhh…**'_

_Bertrand suddenly realized why his daughter was so upset that she would go and beat up Gérard. He did not realize he had that much of an influence on his daughter that she would want to be a musketeer! If it had been any other father that heard her say that, they would have ridiculed Adeline for thinking such nonsense; however, Bertrand was not like other fathers. With Adeline being his only—and probably last—child since the physician told him that Céline would not be able to get pregnant again, he had thought of teaching his daughter how to defend herself with fencing and even told his daughter this, but never did he think his daughter wanted to be a musketeer! How his wife would kill him for this…_

_"Sweetheart…" Bertrand began, not sure how he was going to put this lightly. He did not want to tell her the truth, but he did not want to lie to her either, so he tried a different approach. "There are things that men and women in society were made to do," he said. "The men are made to protect while the women are made to nurture, and many of these men and women believe there are certain things that men or women should or should not do, but there are some men and women that are made to do different things, like your friend Henri. The boy is not brave, but he is intelligent, so something tells me he might make a good bishop one day."_

_"Do you think so, papa?" Adeline asked, her sobbing lessening._

_"I know so, ma chérie, he is smart, but intelligence is not enough to be a soldier," Bertrand said. "Some little boys and girls are different from the rest of the little boys and girls."_

_"Like how I be 'iffrent from 'twonette and the other girls who play with their ugly dollies?"_

_Bertrand would have laughed at the comment, but refrained himself from doing that considering his daughter was in a **delicate** situation. "Yes, just like Antoinette and the other little girls," he said with a smile instead._

_This seemed to make Adeline feel better, but a confused look came across her face quickly. "But, papa, why 'eward say girls not fight if I be 'iffrent?"_

_"Well, my dear Adeline, that is because he was completely ignorant of the fact that a girl, in fact, can fight, and she could be a musketeer if she really proved her worth to everybody," Bertrand said._

_"Really, papa? Who be that?"_

_"You, of course," Bertrand said, a proud smile forming on his lips. A grin had formed on Adeline's lips, showing all her teeth. The grin on his little girl's face made Bertrand feel a whole lot better, he never did like to see a frown on his little girl's face._

_"Do you really think I could be a musketeer, papa?" Adeline asked._

_Bertrand sighed._

_Despite how fond he was of his daughter, he knew what his captain would say about a woman being in the musketeers: '**No!**' However, he did not want to disappoint nor get his daughter's hopes high._

_"There are most people who do not think you can be a musketeer, which is why you have to prove yourself wrong to them, ma chérie," Bertrand said. "It is not up to me to say that, you have to prove you are worthy to be a musketeer."_

_A disappointing look came across Adeline's face. It was not the answer she wanted to hear, but she guessed she could understand her father's words to her, and the disappointing look was quickly replaced by a loving smile._

_"Thanks, papa, I love you," she said as she came up and gave her father an embrace around the ribcage that he returned right back. "I'll prove that I be a musketeer, too!"_

_"I am sure you will, my darling," Bertrand said, smiling with pride at his daughter. '**So strong-willed and determined, just like me…**' he mused. He just hoped, though, that his daughter was not really serious about being a musketeer and that it was just a phase. If it continued by the time she got older, he would have to talk to Adeline about it. _He did not really want to see his daughter going out and fighting against those evil scumbags and getting herself killed.__

_He then remembered why his wife made him come up here, so he pulled his daughter out of the embrace and fixed her with a stern look. "Now, I know there is probably some…justice…in what you did to Gérard in your opinion, but that still does not make up of you beating the boy up and, therefore, you must be punished," he said. "What you did was a very serious thing, and Monsieur Leroy and I will be expecting you to apologize to Gérard when he and his father get here. You must not let your anger control your actions or else they will have serious consequences, do you understand, ma chérie?"_

_Although Adeline thought that being punished was unfair and having to apologize to Gérard upsurd, she understood the meaning of her father's words, so she nodded in understanding._

_"Good. Now, come downstairs with me, there is a young man downstairs who has been anticipating to see you that I am sure you would really love to see," Bertrand said as he helped his daughter out of the bed._

_"Really? Who, papa?" Adeline asked, eager eyes looking up at him as she followed him out of her bedroom._

_"You'll see," Bertrand responded before leading her down the stairs to the kitchen where his wife and younger brother were talking at the table._

_"There is my little devil of a niece," Damien said once he caught sight of the little girl coming into the kitchen._

_"Oncle Damien!" Adeline cried in delight as she ran to greet her uncle with a tight embrace._

_"Ai, you get stronger and stronger everytime I see you, young one," Damien claimed. "What have you been doing while I was away to make yourself so strong?"_

_"Nothing," Adeline said with a mischievous smile._

_"Oh, I am sure you have done nothing," Damien said as he reached out and tickled his niece, earning a high shriek from her. While Damien played with his niece, Bertrand's wife approached him, giving him a kiss on the lips._

_"I do not know how you do it, mon amour, but you seem to be able to relax her more than I can," she said._

_"I don't know what it is either, but I am guessing it is because I am her father and you are her mother, so she feels as if she doesn't have to listen to you but has to listen to me," Bertrand said._

_"Well, we ought to fix that," Céline said. It was then that she felt a tug at her skirt and she looked down to see her daughter looking up at her._

_"Maman, I swary fer yellin' at you early," her daughter said._

_At this, Céline had smiled. If there was one attribute Adeline gotten from her father that Céline liked the most, it was her kind and noble heart. Despite all wrong doings done to her, Adeline was willingly to forgive those who did her wrong right away, with the exception of a few people, of course._

_"It is okay, ma chérie, we all say things that we don't mean to when we are angry," Céline said._

_Adeline's response was by suddenly embracing her mother, taking the latter by surprise, but the surprised look quickly turned into an affectionate one and she embraced her daughter back. Her daughter certainly was not the epitome of what every lady should be, but Adeline was her daughter and she would not have her daughter any other way._

_"I am so glad to have you back home, mon amour," Céline said to her husband._

_"Me too, my darling, me too," Bertrand said fondly as he kissed the top of his wife's forehead._

* * *

><p><em>It was the next morning after a very hearty reunion that Bertrand and his family were having a breakfast meal when there came an unexpected visitor. It was Damien who first noticed the carriage approaching the house through the dining room window.<em>

_"There is a carriage approaching the house," he pointed out once he saw it._

_"A carriage?" Céline repeated as her husband went up to the window to investigate. Bertrand recognized the carriage immediately._

_"It is Monsieur Leroy."_

_"Monsieur Leroy? Already?"_

_At this, Adeline's face had gone pale. She was really dreading this part of having to go up to Gérard and having to apologize to him. She hated Gérard and didn't understand why she had to apologize to a mean boy like Gérard, but she supposed it was because of what her father said last night to her when he came home. '**I not let my anger control my actions now,**' she thought in her three-year-old mind. It was then that Adeline's father turned to her._

_"Adeline, dear, Monsieur Leroy is here with his son," her father said. "Now, I am going to go out and greet Monsieur Leroy and his son, and, when I call your name, you are to come out and apologize to Gérard right away, do you understand?"_

_"Yes, papa."_

_"Good," Bertrand said before turning to go out the door and greet their guests. He waited by the steps as he watched the carriage approach until it came to a full complete stop in front of his house. It was Monsieur Leroy who first came out of the carriage and then his son Gérard. Gérard's state took Bertrand by surprise as he looked the little boy over._

_'**My three year old daughter did that?'**_

_Gérard Leroy was slim just like any other six year old boy, but was tall for his age and he had a reputation for being strong and a bully, so you could probably imagine how shocked Bertrand was to see Gérard's nose all black and blue and swollen, a cut on his lower lip and right eyebrow, a bruise on both cheeks, and a black eye on his left eye. '**By God, my brother is right: my daughter is the devil! Only three years old and she did that to a six year old?**' Bertrand got over his shock quickly, trying to compose himself as Monsieur Pierre Leroy and his son approached him to the front porch._

_"Monsieur Leroy, it is an honor to see you at my humble home, but tell me what brings you here at this hour in the morning?" Bertrand asked, trying to act naïve as to why Monsieur Leroy was here but trying to be polite as well. However, Monsieur Leroy was far from being polite._

_"You should know the reason why I am here, Monsieur d'Artagnan," he said. "Your little devil of a daughter assaulted my son and I expect an apology to my son from your daughter right away. I would also like to see her be punished as well."_

_If there was one thing that Bertrand hated about Pierre Leroy, he would not be able to choose that one thing he hated about Pierre Leroy because he hated everything about Pierre Leroy. For one thing, he was very rude, even when a gentleman is trying to be polite to him, and was arrogant. It made Bertrand angry how Pierre's arrogance always made him look down at him and all the other musketeers. Pierre Leroy was a rich merchant and often traded silk with His Majesty King Henry IV and was in high regards with the King, which Bertrand was beyond of understanding why since King Henry and Pierre Leroy were nothing alike. Pierre believed himself to be better than anyone else, especially in fencing, which makes Bertrand laugh, considering he recalled the times when he and Pierre had dueled and seeing Pierre lose everytime. Pierre was a man of too much pride and would never admit to the public that he lost a duel with Bertrand and often told lies how he would best Bertrand in the sport. Pierre was also a man of great ambition who used it to his advantage to get what he wanted, which Bertrand would have to say he hated the most about Pierre Leroy._

_Pierre's wife and sons were no better—probably worse than Pierre Leroy. The whole family had consisted of black hair and brown eyes so dark that they looked black, except for Médée and their infant daughter who have light brown hair and blue eyes._

_Bertrand was really just itching to say something that was not considered very polite to Monsieur Leroy, but his more noble and gentleman side of him did not allow him to, so instead: "I apologize, Monsieur Leroy, for what my daughter did to your son," he said. "My wife told me what happened when I got home. We discussed it and we are having her punished as we speak."_

_"I would still like to hear an apology from your daughter, Monsieur d'Artagnan!" Pierre snapped, interrupting him._

_Bertrand clenched his fist, trying to control his anger for the second time. "Would you like me to call on my daughter and have her apologize now, Monsieur Leroy?" he asked._

_"Please do!"_

_Bertrand turned and called his daughter, and, in the next few moments, Damien was walking out of the house with Adeline beside him with her hand in his. Adeline kept her eyes on the ground as they walked up to her father, Monsieur Leroy, and Gérard, even when they were up to them._

_"Is there anything you wish to say to Gérard, Adeline?" Bertrand said._

_"I swary…"_

_"Sorry for what? And for goodness sake, speak properly!" Monsieur Leroy snapped at her, making both Damien and Bertrand angry._

_"Monsieur Leroy! I ask you to restrain yourself from shouting at my daughter," Bertrand said, having about enough with this man. "**I **am her father, so I will be the one to shout at her, and** **I**** will be the one to scold at her, not you! And she is a child, so she has every right to not have the proper grammar. She is still learning, so do not scold at her for her grammar." Monsieur Leroy glared at Bertrand, but did not respond._

_"Adeline, what are you sorry for?" Bertrand said to his daughter sternly but gently, trying to urge his daughter to hurry up and apologize._

_"I swary for beating you up, 'eward."_

_"It's lucky you're a **girl**, otherwise, I would not have forgiven you," was Gérard's response to Adeline's apology, putting a lot of emphasis on the word 'girl.' At this, Adeline finally looked up from the ground and glared at him, but she did not move, only stared him down._

_Bertrand and Damien felt complete and utter disgust towards this boy, wondering how it is that the boy could be so rude, especially after receiving an apology for getting beat up. Bertrand wished he could have taught the boy a lesson in manners, but since the boy was not his child, he left that to Pierre. Pierre, however, did nothing; in fact, he seemed rather satisfied with Adeline's apology and his son's response to it._

_"Now, with this little mishap out of the way, I want to know if you have received my letter and thought about my offer, Monsieur d'Artagnan?"_

_With Monsieur Leroy asking this question, it made both Adeline and Damien look at Bertrand in confusion who seemed to remain rather cool, calm, and collected. "Yes, Monsieur Leroy, I have received your letter, but I do not wish to discuss your offer in the presence of our children," Bertrand responded. "If you wish to discuss it, then I ask you as a gentleman to discuss it with me later somewhere more private."_

_Monsieur Leroy did not seem to like this response, for he glared darkly at Bertrand, but he seemed to understand as to why Bertrand wished not to discuss it now. "Good day to you, Monsieur d'Artagnan," he said as he grabbed his son by the arm and dragged him back into the carriage._

_"Good day to you, Monsieur Leroy," Bertrand said before both Leroys entered the carriage and watched them drove away._

_"See, papa," Adeline said once the carriage started driving away, "I tol' you 'eward be a big meanie to me."_

_"So you did, but you did the right thing," Bertrand said. He then crouched down so he was eye-level with his daughter. "But there is one good thing I do have to say to you about this…"_

_"Can you keep a secret?"_

_Adeline shook her head yes._

_"Well, let me just say that I am very proud of what you've accomplished," Bertrand said, making a smile come on his daughter's face. "Only three years old and yet you were still able to take down a boy two years older than you? You become more and more like me everyday."_

_"You so silly, papa," Adeline said, giggling. "I not three years old, I be three 'n half. My birthday be this far away." She held up two fingers to indicate how many months it would be until her birthday came up._

_"So it is, ma chérie," Bertrand said fondly, amazed of how much his daughter has grown since he last seen her. He could tell that she was going to grow up to be a fine, intelligent lady._

_Adeline's expression then changed quickly all of a sudden. "Père, what 'eward's father mean by "o'fer"? Did 'eward's father o'fer you something?" she asked._

_Bertrand hoped Adeline wouldn't ask about that, perhaps just forget about what Monsieur Leroy said, but he guessed that the child was more observant than he thought._

_"It is nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart," he said. "It is just adult business."_

_"Okay…" Adeline said, sounding as if she wasn't sure if she should believe those words._

_"Now, run along and do your chores like your mère and I asked you to," Bertrand told his daughter. Adeline nodded before turning and running up the barn to do her chores._

_"Bertrand, is there something that Monsieur Leroy offered that has to do with Adeline?" Damien asked once Adeline was out of earshot._

_"Nothing ever goes past you, does it, Damien?"_

_"You know me, Bertrand, I always notice when something is amiss, especially when it concerns my family."_

_Bertrand sighed._

_"Come, let's go inside where I can relieve all your worries. There is something important I wish to tell both you and my wife that concerns Adeline with the Leroys," he said as he escorted his brother back inside the house. After gathering both his brother and wife together at the dining table, Bertrand sat down in a chair across from them, sighing as if he was tired, before he began._

_"I received a letter from Monsieur Leroy in Paris about two days before I was to leave," he said. "He offered me something that took me by surprise…"_

_"What did he offer you?"_

_"He offered an arranged marriage between his son Gérard and our daughter."_

_There was a long, silent pause in the room as both Damien and Céline stared at him with horror. It was Damien that first broke the silence._

_"No! Absolutely not! Bertrand, I cannot and will not allow you to accept this offer! It's barbaric! Do you not realize that a marriage between Gérard and Adeline would just result in a disaster?"_

_"Peace, my brother," Bertrand said, holding up his hand to silence him, "peace! I did not say I have accepted the offer." This seemed to calm Damien down a bit, for he backed off and leaned back in his chair._

_"But, Bertrand, I do not understand," Céline said, "why does Monsieur Leroy want to have Adeline matched up with Gérard? Just yesterday, before Adeline beat up the poor boy, his mother came to the house, talking about how I stooped so low as to marry someone lower than my status. When we were both younger, growing up, I remember Médée always saying she would never allow her any of her children to marry anyone who were not of high class. So why on earth would she allow her husband to allow such a match?"_

_"Apparently, Monsieur Leroy believes Adeline comes from a decent bloodline and feels the decency could be restored, as if she married someone from her mother's previous status," Bertrand said._

_"My previous status?" Céline shouted indigently, interrupting him. "That conniving, manipulative, evil woman has her husband wrapped around her little finger, so this is all Médée's doing, I just know of it! She has always been jealous of our relationship from the moment we fell in love, Bertrand, and now that woman seeks to destroy what I have left: a loving husband, a brother-in-law that cares for his family, and a beautiful daughter, despite the fact how troublesome she is…"_

_Bertrand smiled at that before saying, "Yes, we all know how horrible the woman is, now may I continue what I was about to say, my dear wife?"_

_Céline nodded, blushing in embarrassment of her outburst, letting her husband continue with what he was about to say._

_"Monsieur Leroy claims that the match would be best, saying Adeline needs protection, in case something were to happen to me and Damien," Bertrand said, "but, what with Gérard's reputation and his lack of respect towards Adeline, I am going to be turning down the offer. I have no desire to give away my daughter to a boy who will treat my daughter in such a way."_

_There were huge sighs of relief from both Damien and Céline, which amused Bertrand. "Brother, do not ever scare me like that again!" Damien said. "Lord, I could have sworn I was about to drop dead from a heart attack."_

_"Mon amour, do not ever do that to us again," Céline said._

_Bertrand laughed at that. "I won't," he said. "Besides, what makes you think I would allow such a match? I do not think Gérard would be a good husband to Adeline, he will try to tie her down, and Adeline does not take it lightly when someone tries to tie her down."_

_"Don't we all know this, my darling?" Céline asked, giving her husband a knowing look._

_"Don't worry, you two, I will make sure Adeline has a good husband to take care of her before I die." And Bertrand would make sure nothing bad would ever happen to his women even after he died._

* * *

><p><em>It was a week later after Bertrand and Damien had been at home when another visitor came to the d'Artagnans' house. The d'Artagnans were working out on the fields with the help of Henri when Adeline looked up and noticed a rider approaching the farm. From the look of the clothing the rider wore, Adeline guessed he was from a noble family.<em>

_"Père! Mère! Look, a rider be coming!" she shouted._

_Bertrand, Damien, and Céline stopped what they were doing and looked up to see the rider approaching the farm. The whole family and Henri stared at the rider curiously as he approached nearer, wondering why he appeared in such fine clothing. Céline began to wonder if the rider was a messenger from Paris with a letter to send them back to the city, which filled her with dread. She only had her husband and brother-in-law back home for a week and, already, he and his brother were being summoned back to Paris, even when they were promised to have a month off._

_"He's a bit overdressed for a rider, isn't he, Monsieur d'Artagnan?" Henri asked Bertrand as he noticed the clothing the rider was wearing._

_"Quite so, Henri, it is hot, after all. I wonder exactly what the gentleman wants," Bertrand said to Damien._

_"Let's go see."_

_The family and Henri approached the fence that separated the road from the field. As the rider got closer, it was Damien who first recognized who the rider was. "Why, the gentleman is your dear protégé, Bertrand!" he cried._

_"What?"_

_"It is Monsieur Athos, your young protégé and son of the Comte de la Fère."_

_"Ah, so it is," Bertrand said as he recognized the rider once he got closer, waving him over. "What is he doing here by himself? Does his father not approve of him going out by himself unless he has someone with him?" He asked his brother this which he responded with a shrug._

_"I don't know."_

_Athos was Bertrand's new protégé, paid by his father, so that he could learn from the best and be a man as the Comte said. Athos was only twelve years old, about twenty three years younger than Bertrand, but mature for his age. He came from a rich background, just like Bertrand's wife did, but he had a noble heart that surprised Bertrand since he noticed that most children from noble families had a snobbish attitude towards musketeers. Athos did not have any snobbish attitude towards musketeers; in fact, he seemed rather interested in being one. It was obvious by the way he looked at Bertrand and went over the tales he heard about him with such admiration that he wanted to be one, but he kept that wish to himself since the Comte de la Fère made it clear he disapproved of having a son as a musketeer, but Bertrand could see Athos wanted to be one. Bertrand thinks that is one of the reason why he was close with his protégé and looked to him as a son, and the boy looked up to Bertrand as a father._

_"Monsieur d'Artagnan," Athos greeted his mentor once he came up to the group and dismounted from his horse, bowing to his mentor and family. "I am very sorry for having to disrupt your vacation time with your family…"_

_"It is fine, young Monsieur Athos," Bertrand said. "Would you like to come in for a bite to eat? You look famished."_

_"Yes, I would be most grateful, Monsieur d'Artagnan," Athos said eagerly, for he was indeed very famished._

_Bertrand escorted Athos into his house with his family and Henri behind him. They went to the kitchen and while Céline cooked, the two grown men and boy talked at the table. The two children eyed the stranger named Athos with curiosity, especially Adeline in particular. She looked at Athos and saw how handsome and very tall—compared to her—he was. He had brown hair and blue-green eyes and looked at least older than Gérard, but he seemed as if he was a nice person._

_Athos reminded Adeline of her father a lot: tall, dark, handsome, wise, and noble. Looking below Athos' waist, Adeline noticed the sword on his right side. Getting curious, Adeline got down from where she was sitting and walked towards Athos to get a closer look at the sword. She could not really see the blade, but she saw that the sheath was made of black leather and the handle of the sword was silver and well-polished. She tried to touch it lightly just to get the feel of the sword underneath her fingertips, but she accidentally moved it, causing Athos to jump away before he looked down and made eye contact with little Adeline._

_Athos seemed to have frozen and gone rigid as he stared at Adeline, and Adeline, though was considered to be very brave at times, shied away from Athos piercing gaze._

_"Adeline, what are you doing? Are you bothering Monsieur Athos?" Bertrand asked once he saw his protégé's gaze shift downward and gone stiff._

_"No, I just wanted to see his sword, papa," Adeline responded as she ran up to her father._

_"Now, you know that swords are not to be played with, ma chérie," Bertrand said as he picked his little girl up by under the armpits and placed her in his lap._

_"I just wanted to see the sword, papa," Adeline repeated, "that's all."_

_"I understand, ma chérie, but it is not up to me, it is up to Monsieur Athos," Bertrand said. "Why don't you ask Monsieur Athos if you could see his sword?"_

_Both Athos and Adeline made eye contact again for a few minutes before Adeline broke the eye contact, burying her face in her father's chest, making Athos inwardly sigh with relief. He really did not want to show the sword he had to just anybody, especially to a female child. It is not that he did not like Adeline, he was just not very good with children, especially with female children, and also the sword belonged to his father, so he felt awkward to show it to somebody just for show. His father did not even know he had the sword with him, and that is why he hoped to never have to take the sword out of it's sheath._

_Bertrand was a little surprised by Adeline's behavior. Normally, Adeline was never a very shy person, but she somehow seemed very shy of Monsieur Athos. He didn't know what caused it, but he decided to let it go for now._

_"I am very sorry, Monsieur Athos, my daughter just seems intrigued by your sword," Bertrand said. "She has a knack for swords."_

_"That is perfectly fine, Monsieur d'Artagnan," Athos said._

_"You have not met my wife or daughter, have you, Monsieur Athos?"_

_"No, I have never met your wife and daughter," Athos said in a more relaxed tone, glad that the subject was changed._

_"This is my wife, Céline," Bertrand said, nodding to his wife who was placing plates in front of the men._

_"It is an honor to meet you, Madame d'Artagnan," Athos said in a formal way that did not seem like him to Bertrand. '**That father of his must be coming down hard on him on how to live the life of nobility,**' he thought. Athos took Céline's hand and bowed, but he did not kiss it._

_"I am honored to meet you, Monsieur Athos," Céline said as she bowed to him. "My husband has told me about his new protégé, so I am glad to finally meet you. And I assume you have met our daughter, Adeline? I apologize for her behavior, she can be just like her father sometimes."_

_"It is perfectly fine, madame," Athos said, though he was really perplexed about how a girl was so interested in swords when girls her age were more interested in dolls and thinking about getting married soon once they got older. Curiosity eventually got the best of him._

_"Although, I must ask, how is it that a little girl is so interested in swords? I mean, don't girls prefer to dress up and play with dolls…?"_

_Adeline had gotten some of her courage back, for she turned to Athos and gave him a mean look. "Dollies are ugly! I not play with dollies 'cause dollies be ugly and stupid!" she snapped, surprising Athos with her outburst, for he has never seen a girl with such fire. "They be fer weak girlies like 'twonette, she be weak and stupid. I not be weak and stupid, I be strong and smart, like my papa."_

_"Adeline Josephina Maria d'Artagnan, do not speak to our guest like that in such a way, it is rude!" Adeline's mother cried, shocked that her daughter would even think of speaking to someone like that, especially of someone of nobility._

_"Sorry, maman. Sorry, Monsieur Athos," Adeline said, feeling a blush of shame rise to her cheeks._

_"It is alright, la fille de d'Artagnan."_

_"Ma chérie, why don't you go outside and play with Henri while your maman cooks lunch for us? Your oncle, Monsieur Athos, and I have something important to discuss," Bertrand said._

_"Okay, papa," Adeline said before climbing down from her father's lap and running over to Henri. "Come on, Henri, let's go play soldiers!" she cried, trying to drag her best friend outside._

_"Okay, but you be the bad guy this time," Henri said as he followed Adeline out the front door._

_"Stay out of the mud, Adeline!" Céline shouted after her daughter before she and Henri ran out of the house._

_Athos stared after Adeline curiously, wondering how is it that a young girl would want to play a boys' game. She certainly is different from all the other girls he has ever seen, Athos mused._

_"Now, Monsieur Athos, what exactly brings you to my home and so far away from Paris and without an escort?" Bertrand asked, bringing Athos' attention back to him._

_"I was asked by Monsieur de Treville to give you a letter," Athos said as he brought out a letter from his trousers' pocket. "He said he did not have the money to pay a messenger, so he thought I would deliver you the letter free of charge which I gladly would, but I knew father wouldn't allow me to go up there because_…_well, you know how he is. Mother said she'll cover for me because she knew how much I've wanted to see you. She wanted an escort to come with me, but I figured it would be too suspicious if one of my father's servants was gone, so I left without an escort just so he wouldn't get suspicious and that I was just staying at a friend's house for a few days."_

_"Ah, so that explains it. One so young should not be wandering the roads alone, especially when someone is still inexperienced with the sword," Bertrand said. Athos blushed, feeling a little embarrassed, but it felt good that someone cared for him. "What does the letter say?" Bertrand asked, referring to the letter in Athos' hand._

_"I don't know," Athos said. "Monsieur de Treville did not tell me what the letter was about, but I have a hunch to what it is about. Just three days before, the King announced Marie de Medici's coronation to become the Queen of France, and he wants all of his musketeers to be there to escort him."_

_Bertrand took the letter that Athos gave to him, opening it before he read it, fearing what was going to be said as he did. When he finished reading it, he felt his heart sigh with relief. He was afraid he would have to leave his wife and child behind again after being promised to spend time with them for a month. This is what the letter said:_

**_Dear Monsieur d'Artagnan,_**

**_It has come to my knowledge that His Majesty King Henry IV has announced his wife Marie de Medici's coronation to be coming up soon, and he has summoned all His musketeers to escort Him and His wife to the coronation. I know you and your brother had put so much work and effort into getting your vacation to see your family which is why I asked His Majesty to let you and Monsieur Damien d'Artagnan bring your family with you to Paris and be present at Lady Marie's coronation. I have just received word from His Majesty that he has granted you this permission. You and your family are expected to leave for Paris the next day after you receive this letter, for His Majesty desires to see your family again._**

**_Sincerely,_**

**_Monsieur de Treville_**

_"Our whole family has been summoned to Paris," Bertrand announced to his wife and brother._

_"Our whole family to Paris? What for?" It was Céline who asked this. She had listened to the whole conversation in fear as she cooked the meal for the family, scared her husband and brother-in-law had to go away again after such a short time at home, but to hear that they were all being summoned to Paris really surprised her._

_"The King has invited us to Marie de Medici's coronation. Damien and I must protect His and Her Lady while you and Adeline enjoy yourselves at Marie's coronation," Bertrand said._

_As much as Céline was excited about being invited to a coronation, for it had been such a long time since she has been to the royal court, she was just worried about what Adeline would do there. Adeline was too much of a wild spirit, and she hated dresses. Everytime her mother would put her in one, it would always end up dirty and torn by the end of the day._

_"But, mom amour, are you sure it is okay for Adeline to go to something as special as a coronation?"_

_"Of course! Why would you think it wasn't?"_

_"Well, you just know how our daughter is: she would not be able to keep a dress clean and intact if her life depended on it!"_

_"Oh, yes, of course," Bertrand said, smiling fondly of all the times he came home to find his daughter all muddy and her dress all dirty and torn with mud caked all over with holes here and there. "Do not worry, my darling, I will talk to Adeline about that."_

_Céline sighed in defeat, hoping that her husband would truly convince her to stay clean while at Marie de Medici's coronation. "Okay, I'll go pack our things after lunch," she said before turning back to cook the meal. She then looked out of the window and an irritated look went across her face._

_"What is it?" Bertrand asked, not blind to the look on his wife's face._

_"Your daughter."_

_Céline then went out of the kitchen and the house, the two men and young boy hearing her shout, "Adeline, what did I say about staying out of the mud? I told you a million times to stay out of there!"_

_Bertrand laughed, thinking how funny it was to see his wife dragging his now very muddy and reluctant daughter to take a bath._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hope it wasn't too bad. Remember, if you don't like it, then please don't review it! Grazie.**

**Translations (I know there are some of you out there who probably already know what these mean, but I'm doing it just in case there _isn't_ somebody who doesn't know what these mean):**

**Mon amour: my love**

**la fille de d'Artagnan: the daughter of d'Artagnan**

**ma cherie: my dear (or sweetheart? I think they are the same...)**

**maman/mere: mommy/mother**

**papa/pere: daddy/father**

**oncle: uncle**

**Anything I missed? If so, let me know. Ciao!**


	2. Prologue Pt 2: Preparing for the Coronat

**A/N: Okay, sorry it took me a while, but I'm back :), and I am here to finish the prologue. I did not realize how long it was going to be, so I had to split it into a 3-part instead of a 2 part, but I pretty much have all parts done. I did re-edit some things from the 1st part of the prologue, but not by much. I said that Adeline looked like her mother in looks, but I changed that just a bit. I am portraying D'Artagna's parents from the 2011 movie version where Adeline's mother has red hair instead of brown, and she got the brown hair from her father. Most of her features (and her personality :P) are from her father. Also, Adeline's birthday is on July 20th. I indicated her birthday was in August, but I changed it to July.**

**(New!) Summary: Adeline has always been considered a very spirited woman, even as a little girl, and has dreams of becoming a musketeer like her father, but as a woman, of course, she cannot be one. She has been in the care of both her mother and uncle ever since her father died when she was only three, and has been trained by her uncle to be the best swordswoman there ever was in history, but with Adeline 19 and no husband and the possibility of her uncle dying and losing the farm, she is to wed Gérard Leroy, her arch nemesis. But when the Comte de Rochefort comes in, invades her home, and kills her best friend, Henri, Adeline has sworn vengeance on him. Going to Paris to search for Rochefort, she ends up running into the three legendary musketeers known as The Inseparables and they all discover a plot to overthrow the King of France. Teaming up with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, Adeline tries to stop the evil, treacherous Milady de Winter and her employer from engulfing the whole world into war and destroying the very nation of France. Will Adeline and the three legendary musketeers be able to stop them in time?**

**Rated: M, just to be safe for about now for violence, language, sexual references, nudity, and sex scenes.**

**Timeline: 17th century. 1610 and 1628.**

**I do not own any of the characters from Summit Entertainment or Disney, except for Adeline and a few others I made in this story, Alexandre Dumas, Paul Anderson, and Stephen Herek owns the rest.**

**Enjoy.**

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><p><strong><em>P<em>****_r_****_o_****_l_****_o_****_g_****_u_****_e_****_ Part Two: _****_P_****_r_****_e_****_paring for the Coronation_**

_"Are we almost there, papa?" Adeline asked for what seemed like the hundredth time that day during the trip._

_Athos did not understand how Bertrand could be so calm after being asked that question so many times in a day because Athos knew for sure that he would have been driven into insanity with that question. Was he ever this impatient at the little girl's age?_

_Bertrand, however, just kept his composure and said, "We are almost there, ma chérie, just be patient."_

_"Someone is rather impatient to see the big city, aren't we?" Damien asked with a knowing tone and smirk._

_"I not impatient!"_

_Athos could feel a headache coming up. '**Of all the people on this trip, why did the little girl decide to ride with me?**' he thought in annoyance. This morning before the group was to ride off to Paris, Adeline had decided to ride with Athos, the latter not really understanding why since the child seemed so shy of him last night. He was wishing that the child had decided to ride with either her mother, father, or uncle instead. It is not that he did not like Adeline, he just did not know how to handle female children; plus, the child's constant chattering was driving him insane!_

_"I just excited, Oncle Damien, you and papa always tell me about Paris. You tell me about how busy it is and how 'ieves, scoundrels, and cutthroats be in the city. You say cutthroats and all other big meanies be scary and dangerous, but I not scare of them! I be a d'Artagnan, d'Artagnans not 'fraid of nothing. I go to Paris to show those big meanies that I not be 'fraid of them!"_

_"You will do no such thing, young lady!" Céline said. "You are to behave just as a lady should behave like your father and I have told you so, do you understand?"_

_Adeline pouted angrily, but did not protest by saying, "Yes, maman."_

_Athos did not really understand how such a small little girl like Adeline could have such bravery and spirit for one so young. She was as brave—but maybe as foolish as well—as his mentor was. He never thought he would see such bravery in little girls—or grown women._

_"Now, Adeline, what have we talked about when we are up in Paris?" Bertrand asked sternly._

_"To behave myself, hold my tongue and watch what I say 'specially in the presence of His Majesty or any other noble peoples, keep my dress clean, and not get into fights with boys," Adeline said, repeating what her father told her this morning, word-for-word._

_"And you best do as your told, young lady," Céline said._

_"But, maman, papa, why do I gotta wear a dress? I hate dress!" Adeline whined._

_"Because it is important for you to look well for His Majesty, it is important for a lady to do so," Damien responded before his brother and sister-in-law could. "You will be meeting them, after all…"_

_"But why I not wear what I have on?" Adeline asked, referring to the clothes she had on. The clothes she was referring to, though, were not lady-like material for her age; instead, Adeline wore black breeches that reached down to her calves with a white shirt and brown-sleeveless doublet. She did not have any shoes on at the moment, for the shoes she wore this morning were black flats for girls her age and those shoes had a tendency to slip off, so they were now being held by Céline in one of her saddle bags._

_"Because a lady must look nice for His Majesty and Marie de Medici, our soon-to-be Queen of France, ma chérie," Bertrand said, "and I believe Her Ladyship Marie would not like it to see a young girl present herself in a pair of breeches."_

_Adeline crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted, but she said nothing to protest again._

_"Why is it that you do not like dresses, young Adeline?" Athos asked, curious as to why this little girl hated dresses while so many others loved them._

_"They be uncomfortable and for stupid girls like 'twonette."_

_Athos laughed at the response, earning a glare from the little girl. '**Yep, this girl sure is going to be different by the time she gets older, I hope her father's patience does not run it's course by then**,' he thought. Throughout the rest of the trip, everybody was quiet for what seemed like the first time in the longest time to Athos, and he was grateful for it. It was not until when they reached Paris that Adeline's excitement had taken over again and she began chattering away once more. Athos had to hold onto the little girl tightly to prevent her from falling off the horse because she kept on leaning to the sides of the saddle, nearly slipping off._

_"Wow! Papa, it be always crowded?" Adeline asked._

_"Most of the time."_

_Adeline then detected a foul smell in the air and made a disgusted face. "Ew! What be that smell, papa?"_

_"That is the smell of Paris, ma chérie, don't worry, you'll get used to it after a while."_

_Trying to not let the foul stench affect her, Adeline turned to other things about the city. She was rather excited of seeing the city for the first time. Her eyes darted everywhere, seeing huge buildings that towered over her that it was scary; processions that sold food; games that got people real excited about and lay down their money to see who would win; shops that sold and made dresses, making Adeline make a disgusted face; guards running and chasing after thieves in the streets; and so much more. Everything around her was very hard to absorb in her three year old mind, but already she was loving Paris._

_"Ah, Monsieur d'Artagnan," a man greeted Adeline's father once they came up to a large building. Adeline noticed that the man was wearing the musketeers' tunic as well. The man then turned his attention to Damien and gave him a nod in greeting, saying, "and Monsieur d'Artagnan, we have all been expecting you and your family."_

_"All? Everybody must have missed us very badly then," Bertrand said jokingly._

_"Not everyone."_

_"Ah, yes, of course, the latest bishop in court, how could I ever forget him."_

_"Would you like me to have my servant take your horses to the stables?" the man asked._

_"We would be most obliged, my friend," Bertrand said as he swung his leg around, getting down from his horse._

_The man turned and called somebody over, and another man came up to them. "Take these horses to the stables and make sure they are taken care of," the man ordered him._

_"Papa, oncle, is this the musketeers' headquarters?" Adeline asked once the servant left with all their horses to take to the stables. Her mother held her in her arms while she tried putting on the little girl's shoes._

_"It is indeed, ma chérie, this is The Hotel de Treville, home to our captain, Monsieur de Treville, and headquarters of the musketeers," Damien said._

_"Monsieur de Treville?" Adeline repeated in a tone of awe, her eyes widening in amazement. Even in such a small town as Gascony, the name of Monsieur de Treville was widely known, practically in whole of France. It was also said that Gascony is where Monsieur de Treville originally came from._

_"Why, yes, of course. Who else were you expecting my little wildflower?" Bertrand asked in a teasing tone, a knowing smile on his lips as he saw the glare his daughter threw him._

_"Little wildflower" was Bertrand's pet name for his daughter ever since she was a baby. His daughter did not like the "little" part so much because she had this belief that she was not little and that she was a big girl and able to do things on her own. '**She's growing up so fast that it won't be long before she is a grown woman**,' Bertrand thought._

_"No one," Adeline responded, the toddler not really understanding the sarcasm in her father's tone. "Let me down, maman, I wanna walk!" She said this as she was trying to wiggle out of her mother's grasp._

_"Alright, sweetie, but stay by my side," Céline said, reluctantly letting her daughter walk._

_"Come, Monsieur de Treville is waiting for you upstairs," the man said as he led the d'Artagnan family inside the building, the family bidding Monsieur Athos goodbye who had to head back home._

_Bertrand could not help but laugh at the sight of his daughter once they were inside the building. Everywhere they looked, there was a musketeer running about or carrying opponent dummies, swords hanging at their sides, and all Adeline could do was stare at them in amazement. It was like she was a little child, which she was, in the sweet shop. As his eyes were taken off of Adeline for a moment, Adeline began to wander away from her family._

_She looked around as she watched all the musketeers go by, her little mind wondering where they were all going and what they were going to do—'**Probably to go train**,' she thought—and how great it would be to be in one of those blue tunics, to just be a musketeer. She was absorbing so much of what was going on around her that she did not watch where she was going and bumped into someone. As she landed on her backside with a loud "ouf," there suddenly came a flash of steel and a deep, hard voice from the person she bumped into._

_"Why, you stupid, no good scoundrel…" The man's sentence left off hanging when he saw that he was talking to nothing but thin air, but then looked down and saw it was a child that had bumped into him. "Oh."_

_The man Adeline was looking up at looked at least six feet tall and had thin light brown hair and green eyes that seemed to hold a bit of a cold knowing to them. Adeline found herself not liking this man very much already._

_The man grunted in annoyance before sheathing his sword again. "Watch where you are going next time, you little runt," he said, "you will never know what crooks would be willing to cut your throat."_

_Adeline stomped her foot and crossed her arms across her chest. "I not scared of no crooks!" she exclaimed. "Ma père is Bertrand d'Artagnan, the greatest musketeer in all of France, and he taught me everything he know, so I be not 'fraid of anytwing!" However, Adeline did feel her heart quake with fear, but she wanted to prove to this man that she was definitely a true musketeer like her father._

_Normally, children as young as this one, especially grown men, would cower away from him, but not this one, not the son of Monsieur d'Artagnan. It comes as no surprise to the man, though, since this child **was** the son of Bertrand d'Artagnan._

_'**The boy's voice sounds rather high-pitched, though…**'_

_"You better watch that tone with me, boy! Do you not know who I am?"_

_"You be stupid if you be calling me 'boy'!"_

_"Adeline? Adeline! Where are you?" came the frightened voice of Céline, but Adeline did not hear it. She was too busy trying to stare down at the grown man, despite how tall he was._

_"How dare you, you insolent little brat! No one dares talk to me like that!" the man said, gripping onto Adeline's arm. "You ought to be taught a lesson in manners!"_

_Adeline's bravery suddenly went out the window, afraid that the man was going to hit her, wishing her father was here when somebody called out her name. There was the sound of a sword being drawn and the next thing Adeline saw was a tip of a sword in the man's face and being in her mother's arms. Adeline just knew that it was her father that stood facing the man._

_"Keep your hands off my daughter, Monsieur Amauri, or it is me you'll be answering to," Bertrand snarled, his eyes ablaze with such fierceness, keeping his sword in the man named Monsieur Amauri's face._

_"Daughter?" Monsieur Amauri repeated in shock, not even hearing the man's threat and staring at the little boy—girl in the mother's arms and that's when he noticed for the first time the long braid in the child's hair. Monsieur Amauri suddenly understood the last statement the child said to him, but still his pride was hurt when she called him "stupid."_

_"Your **daughter** tricked and insulted me! You should have taught her how to act more like her actual sex and watch her mouth. What kind of father lets his daughter cross dress as a boy?"_

_Bertrand pressed the blade closer to Monsieur Amauri's face, so close that it almost touched his cheek. "What kind of man lays a hand on a child that is not his?" Bertrand responded. "Let me make this very clear to you, Monsieur Amauri: if you ever touch my daughter again, then there will be a serious consequence, one that will send you to your judgment day earlier than you think…"_

_Both men stared each other down, not realizing how quiet the hotel had gotten as everybody watched the quarrel between the two musketeers, before another voice rang out throughout the hotel. The voice had gotten people's heads spinning to where it had come from. Immediately, both Bertrand and Amauri put their swords away once they realized it was their captain that was speaking, his tone sounding none too happy._

_"Why is it that I come out of my office and I find my comrades fighting amongst each other?"_

_Adeline's eyes went wide as she saw the speaker as she looked over her mother's shoulder, immediately knowing it was Monsieur de Treville. Adeline has never seen the captain of the musketeers in her short life before—at least, not that she could remember—, but has heard descriptions of him plenty of times from her father and uncle._

_Monsieur de Treville stood at a six feet and five inches tall with wide, broad shoulders, and he had blue eyes that held a sense of kind yet hard look to them and blonde hair with graying at the temple. His expression seemed to be set in a permanent grim, even when he was actually angry at the moment. To Adeline, he looked like a very noble gentleman. He was not wearing his musketeer uniform, but, instead, was wearing a traveling hat, black breeches and boots, a white shirt, and a black leather cloak. Monsieur de Treville's clothing did not make him look like a captain, but the way people shied away from the angry man as he made his way towards Bertrand and Monsieur Amauri made Adeline second-guess that._

_When there was no answer given right away to him, Monsieur de Treville got impatient. "Well?" he said. "What is the meaning of this? Explain yourselves, the both of you!"_

_"Capitaine, I did not mean to disrespect you in any way," Bertrand started, "but this **man** insulted me and my family by laying a hand on my daughter, I had to defend her honor—"_

_"Monsieur d'Artagnan," Monsieur de Treville interrupted, "you of all people should know that even for a little girl, young Mamoiselle Adeline d'Artagnan is perfectly capable of defending her honor, thanks to two certain musketeers of mine!" He gave both Damien and Bertrand a knowing look, which made both musketeers blush with embarrassment and all the rest, except for Monsieur Amauri, to laugh._

_"And you, Monsieur Amauri? What do you have to say to explain yourself?" Monsieur de Treville said, turning to Monsieur Amauri._

_"Capitaine, I will admit that I let my anger carry me away," Monsieur Amauri began, feeling a blush of shame on his cheeks, but then he turned his attention to the little girl and his tone and the reason for his blushing changed, "but the fille de d'Artagnan insulted and tricked me. I mistaken her for a boy, and she then insulted my intelligence." He glared at Adeline who glared right back._

_"Monsieur Amauri, Mamoiselle d'Artagnan is a child, she does not know any better," Monsieur de Treville said exasperatedly. "As for her tricking you, I am very sure that was not intentional; plus, you very well knew that Monsieur d'Artagnan had a daughter, or were you so fooled by his daughter's attire that you forgot?"_

_At this, all the musketeers laughed, making Monsieur Amauri turn red, but whether from embarrassment or anger, no one could tell. When Monsieur Amauri did not answer, Monsieur de Treville made his next commandment, "Off with you, Monsieur Amauri, I will deal with you later."_

_"Yes, capitaine," Monsieur Amauri said then turned to leave. Before he did, he gave the whole d'Artagnan family a nasty glare with all of them, except for Céline, giving him one right back._

_"Please forgive him, my friends, he is just…a very **spirited** musketeer," Monsieur de Treville said to the family after Monsieur Amauri left._

_"Ha! 'Spirited' would not be the right word for it, ma capitaine," Damien said._

_"I know. He is the latest new recruit and his mentor is Monsieur Leroux," Monsieur de Treville said. "Monsieur Amauri is a very noble man once you get to know him, he just prefers the grand life, just like Monsieur Leroux."_

_"That explains why he is so nasty."_

_"Do not worry, old friend. In time, Monsieur Amauri will be a great musketeer like you."_

_"With Monsieur Leroux as his mentor, I highly doubt that."_

_Monsieur de Treville smiled fondly at his friend and then turned his attention to both Céline and Adeline. "Ah, Madame d'Artagnan, it is so wonderful to see you again," he said as he took Céline's hand when she presented it and kissed the back of it._

_"As it is wonderful to see you again too, Monsieur de Treville," Céline said. "You remember our daughter Adeline, right?"_

_"Of course! How could I forget about the fille de d'Artagnan, you were quite the popular one around here when you were born, young one," Monsieur de Treville said to the little girl, making her blush._

_Adeline just could not believe that she was actually in the musketeers' headquarters with the captain talking to **her**. "It-It be nice to meet you, Mon-Monsieur," she stuttered out, feeling very nervous._

_"No need to be nervous, young one, it is honor to have you in my presence again," Monsieur de Treville said smilingly, making Adeline feel a little more at ease. "She looks just like her mother, but seems to act like her father."_

_"You do not know the half of it, Monsieur…"_

_Monsieur de Treville chuckled before he addressed the whole family. "I was just on my way to see the king when I found you," he said, referring to Bertrand, "and Monsieur Amauri fighting. His Majesty requested an audience with me and the whole d'Artagnan family, for he is very eager to meet you all, but you were rather late, so I was going to go on and meet with the king when I found out just as I left my office that you've arrived. Would you and your family accompany me to the Versailles to meet with the king?"_

_"Right now? In only traveling clothes?" Céline said in astonishment._

_Although Céline was in one of her favorite red dresses, the dress was only fit for traveling, she would feel embarrassed if she had to meet the king dressed only in her traveling clothes; plus, Adeline wasn't properly dressed! Céline wanted her and her daughter to look presentable for His Majesty the King._

_Monsieur de Treville, as if reading Céline's mind, chuckled. "Do not fret, Madame d'Artagnan," he said. "His Majesty King Henry does not care much for formality when it comes to meeting his friends, especially the family of his friends."_

_His reassurance still did not make Céline feel any better. Growing up as a noble woman, she was taught by her parents to always look presentable whenever she was in the presence of a noble family. Bertrand, sensing his wife's discomfort, went over to reassure her._

_"Do not worry, His Majesty is a very good and gracious king, he does not care much of how his citizens present themselves," he said._

_"But what about Adeline? She needs to be properly dressed!"_

_"Do not worry, mon amour, we will explain to His Majesty that we arrived late and could not find enough time to get her changed."_

_"Madame d'Artagnan, I understand your need to look nice for His Majesty, but the king has requested an audience with you and your family in twenty minutes and we must not keep him waiting," said Monsieur de Treville. "Trust me, my lady, King Henry will be delighted to meet you and your family just as you are."_

_Céline still did not look convinced, but if Monsieur de Treville said they could not keep His Majesty waiting, then she would have to look dignified as possible, so she gave all the men a nod._

_"Good. I'll have Jack round up the horses," Monsieur de Treville said as he left the family alone to go prepare for the journey to the Versailles._

_"Well, ma chérie," Bertrand said to his daughter as he scooped her from her mother's arms and lifted her high in the air, causing a high-pitched giggle to come from her, and caught her, "are you ready to meet the royal family?"_

_"Yes, papa, I am," Adeline said. "I be glad I not wear a dress, too."_

_"Now just because you got away this time, it does not mean you will get away from it again, young lady," Céline said sternly._

_"Yes, maman."_

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><p><em>It was about twenty-five minutes later that Monsieur de Treville and the d'Artagnan family arrived at the Versailles, the guards letting them through the gates. The three men and Céline had already seen the royal palace, but Adeline had not. From her father, uncle, and mother's description of the palace, she would always imagine what it would look it, but seeing it was a whole lot better than imagining it. The castle was magnificent and huge with many windows that it made Adeline wonder what were in those rooms. Inside the castle, it was even grander. As a servant lead the group to the throne room, Adeline looked everywhere, seeing how beautiful and grand it was, compared to her homey house with the brown, wooden furniture and cemented walls.<em>

_Bertrand, seeing the expression on his daughter's face as she looked around the palace, smiled and said to her, "Do you wish to live in a palace like this, ma chérie?"_

_Adeline suddenly giggled. "Silly, papa, I not be worthy enough to live in the Versailles, only the king be worthy," she said. "You taught me that, 'member?"_

_Bertrand nearly laughed, a bit surprised by the little girl's statement, but just grinned instead as he went over the memory when he told Adeline that. '**Such nobility in such a small one**,' he thought._

_"His Majesty King Henry, Bishop Armand, and the Lord Duke of Buckingham and his son!" the herald suddenly said, announcing the presence of King Henry and two other men. Adeline suddenly became nervous of meeting the king for the very first time, worried she would make a fool of herself in front of him._

_Just like her father and uncle and Monsieur de Treville did, she took off her hat just as three men and a boy came in. Two out of the three men and the boy were dressed up in fancy clothing, making Adeline's mother wishing they **had** dressed up in nicer clothes before they left. The other and last man was dressed in red robes, indicating that he was Bishop Armand. Both of the men in the fancy clothing wore a different set of colors, one who had on light colors and the other had dark colors._

_The man in the light colors had dark brown hair that had streaks of gray with a beard and gray eyes that were filled with a lot of warmth, happiness, and wisdom. His outfit consisted of a whole white outfit with his doublet having a creamy white color to it. The feather on his hat was blue, though, and he gave off an air that drew Adeline to him and made the man seem like he was a good man. The other man, who was in the dark clothes, however, did not look like such a good man—both him and the boy. The other man was dressed in a pair of dark violet petticoat breeches that reached below his knees with black well-polished boots. His doublet was the same color as his breeches, but he had a ruff around the neck, making him look very stiff. His long, wavy black hair was shiny that it looked jet-black and he had a set of cold brown eyes that made Adeline step closer to her father. The other man looked at least her father's age, but Adeline could not be sure because every big person was big to her. She could see the mean glare the other man was sending her father and uncle's way, and she just did not like the vibes she was getting from this man. The boy was a miniature copy of the other man only, instead of having his hair fall down on his shoulders, he had it up and pulled back. He had this annoyed look to his face that just made him look unpleasant. He looked at least a lot older than both Adeline and Henri, at least around Athos' age. The boy wore slim black breeches with black boots and a silk dark green doublet._

_Both the boy and Adeline made eye contact, and a sneer immediately came on the boy's face, making Adeline immediately hate him. '**I hope he not be the prince! He looks to be a big meanie to be Prince Louis**,' she thought. She wondered which man was King Henry and began to worry if King Henry was the bad-looking man or the nice-looking man. She tugged at her father's slacks, turning her father's attention to her._

_"Papa, which man be King Henry?" she asked in a low tone that only her father could hear._

_"The one in the white."_

_"Your Majesty," Monsieur de Treville and the d'Artagnan family greeted him, bowing._

_"My friends, it is so wonderful to see you, but you are all late," King Henry said in a serious tone._

_"I am very sorry, my lord, that would be my fault," Bertrand began._

_"I am merely teasing you, Bertrand," King Henry said, chuckling. "I just got out of an important meeting and I was escorting the lord Duke of Buckingham and his son out. I believe you and your family were once acquainted with the Duke of Buckingham and his son, George, weren't you, Bertrand?"_

_Bertrand tensed up as he and the Duke made eye contact, memories of what he and his wife went through those six years ago when she was about to marry the Duke coming to his mind. The Duke claimed to not have any grudges against him and his family for "taking" his fiancée, but Bertrand and Damien knew differently. Both of them knew that the Duke still held a grudge against them for that._

_"Yes, we were," Bertrand said. "It has been too long, my Lord."_

_"The same is to you, Monsieur d'Artagnan," the Duke said in a strained tone. He then turned his attention to Céline, a warm smile coming to his lips and his tone sounding more gentle. "Céline, it's been too long. How have you and your husband been?"_

_"We have been fine. How have you been, my lord?" Céline asked._

_"I have been very good."_

_"That's good to hear. This is your son?" Céline asked once her eyes landed on the boy. The Duke nodded. "Wow, I have not seen you since you were five years old, George, you have definitely grown. How old are you now?"_

_"I am turning eleven in August, madame," George said, trying to be polite as possible to the woman when he really wanted to just snap at her. He knew how his father would react, though, if he was anything but polite to the woman his father still loved._

_"And am I assuming that this is your daughter?" the Duke said as he smiled at Adeline. It was not a smile that would normally make Adeline feel more at ease, though, it was a smile that made her feel more uneasy. She stepped closer to her father who squeezed her shoulder in a protective, but reassuring way. "She has her mother's beauty. For someone to have her mother's beauty, the child certainly must be like her mother."_

_"She is like her father, actually," Bertrand said which the Duke responded with a glare._

_"I am sure that is not true," the Duke said. "Imagine the disgrace upon your family if your daughter was a swashbuckler."_

_"Oh, I doubt that, Lord Buckingham," King Henry interrupted before Bertrand could say anything stupid. "If anything, I believe that this little one would be the best swordswoman there ever was in all of France, just like her father, and break a few hearts on the way. I think she might live up to her father's reputation." The king gave Adeline a warm smile that made Adeline feel more at ease than with the Duke._

_It was then that Bishop Armand cleared his throat, turning the king's attention to him. "May I remind His Majesty that we are on a very tight schedule," he said._

_"Ah, yes, of course," King Henry said. "Gentlemen, if you would come and meet me in my private study room…" He was referring to his musketeers. "Your wife and child may take a stroll in the gardens to kill time while we are in the meeting, Bertrand, I'll have an escort for them as well…"_

_"If I may, Your Majesty," the Duke of Buckingham began, "but I would be willing to spare a few more minutes and escort Madame d'Artagnan and her daughter to the gardens, if Monsieur Bertrand d'Artagnan does not mind?"_

_Bertrand was about to respond, "Yes, I do mind" when King Henry interrupted them. "Of course he doesn't mind! Go ahead, my lord, we will see you after the meeting. We should be about twenty minutes top."_

_"Thank you."_

_"But, father!" the Duke's son George began to whine, showing his obvious displeasure of having to stay here longer._

_"George, behave yourself," the Duke said sternly. George crossed his arms and slouched in anger. "And do not slouch, young man! You are in the presence of noblemen." George uncrossed his arms and stood up straighter, glaring up at his father._

_"I apologize for my son's rudeness," the Duke addressed the men._

_"Oh, it is fine, my Lord, he is a child, after all," King Henry responded to him before addressing his musketeers, "Gentlemen, if you will follow me. My lord, my lady." He bid the Duke and his son and Céline and her daughter goodbye with a nod then he, the bishop, and his musketeers left into his private study chamber._

_"My lady," the Duke said, offering Céline his arm, "shall we take a stroll down to the gardens?"_

_"We shall, my lord," Céline said, smiling at his charming smile. She noticed that he still had his charming ways._

_Adeline looked at both her mother and the Duke in surprise and confusion, for the way the man was looking at her mother was the way her father looked at her. George the Duke's son, on the other hand, was not the least bit surprised or confused by the way his father looked at the little girl's mother. He was very used to his father's antics towards women—and married ones at that._

_With the little girl at his side, they both followed the two adults out to the back of the castle to the gardens. The adults talked about nonsense that George did not find important to his eleven year old mind and it was not until his father and Céline sat down that his father finally decided to talk to him._

_"George, why don't you take young Adeline over by the pond? I'm sure she would love to see the king's coy fish," he said. In other words, his father's words meant: "Take the brat away so I can try to seduce her mother."_

_George was not fooled by his father's politeness, unlike how the woman was, but he could not really say no, so, sighing, he got up and offered the little girl his hand. The little girl, however, responded by looking at his hand in disgust as if it was the most disgusting thing in the world and moved closer to her mother. Seeing this reaction from the little girl, his father frowned at him._

_"No, I not wanna see no fishy, I wanna stay with maman," Adeline exclaimed._

_"Adeline, it's okay," her mother responded, "you will find the king's fish to be very beautiful. Go on, George is a nice boy, he will watch over you."_

_"But—"_

_"Go on, sweetie," Céline urged her daughter, "it will be fine."_

_Adeline pouted before walking away with George towards the pond, but refusing to take his hand, looking at it as if it would burn her. They walked and sat at the edge of the pond where they both could see many of the orange and white coy fish swimming where across they could see their parents talking. George took one good look at the little girl and curiously stared at the way she was dressed. His father has always taught him that women who dress in men's clothing were not real women and were wretched creatures that were too wild spirited to be wives or mothers._

_"Why do you not wear dresses like a normal girl?" he asked. Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say, though, because Adeline looked up and glared at him._

_"I not wear dresses 'cause they be uncomfortable! They be for dumb girls like 'twonette," she snapped at him._

_"Well, a man does not like a woman who dresses like a man, you better think of that if you ever look for a husband," George said._

_"Ew!" Adeline cried, her face scrunching up in disgust at the thought of her marrying a boy. "I not want a husband, boys have cooties."_

_George laughed. "Let me tell you something, little girl—"_

_"My name be Adeline!"_

_"Fine! Adeline, cooties do not exist, it is just a myth told by parents to keep them from having fun with the opposite sex."_

_"Having fun? What you mean by having fun? You mean playing games?" Adeline asked, clearly not understanding what 'having fun' meant to George._

_It was clear that what George meant by 'having fun' with the opposite sex did not mean playing games as Adeline thought. George remembered the few times when he and this one girl of a family friend to his father would sneak off into the woods and would steal a few kisses, but going no further than what his father would have done._

_Adeline's question made George smirk and he said, "You could say something like that, however you put it, though."_

_"Is there a certain game you play with them?"_

_George, clearly understanding that the little girl did not understand what he meant, but knowing that she was still young and inexperienced, decided not to say anything about the 'certain game' he normally plays with other girls._

_"I think you are too young and inexperienced to understand the significance of this game is, so why don't you be a good little girl and just go play with one of your dolls or something?" he said._

_Adeline gave him a look that would have sent Gérard running and did the only thing she could do that would make her anger feel better: getting up and kicking him in the shin. No one tells her to go play with stupid dolls!_

_"Ow!" George cried, grabbing onto his bruised shin and jumping up and down on the spot before he stopped and glared at Adeline. "Why, you little…"_

_He started to reach out for her, but Adeline yelped and started running the opposite direction of him with George running after her. With the grown-ups, they heard the yelp from Adeline and looked up to find George chasing after her._

_"What is going on? Should we go after them?" Céline asked the Duke._

_"No, no, they should be fine, I am sure they are just playing tag," the Duke reassured her, getting angry that his son took the woman's attention from him. "Now, where were we?"_

_Meanwhile, Adeline tried to run as fast as her little legs would allow her to, but her legs were very short and George was much taller, so he managed to get a hold of her, but only the back of the cloak she was wearing. Adeline hardly felt the tug on the back of her cloak because as soon as George grabbed a hold of it, the cloak flew off of Adeline and he lost his balance. Adeline was turning a corner when George grabbed her cloak and right in front of him was another pond. He lost his balance and fell into the pond, making a loud splash, bringing the attention to Adeline and a small party not too far away._

_George fought to find the solid ground and when he finally did, he stood up and went back up to the surface, his whole body now dripping wet. If George didn't hate that little brat before, then he did now. Never had he ever felt so humiliated in his life, and by a little girl who was only a toddler! His father would definitely kill him for this…_

_Adeline seemed to realize what she did and felt guilty for it. She ran back to him, trying to help him out of the pond. "You be alright?" she asked, trying to help him. But George spurned her help, snarling at her as he got out of the pond and threw her cloak back at her._

_"No, I am not alright!" he snapped. "It is because of you that I tripped and fell in that pond, now I am all dirty and wet!"_

_"I not mean to, it be an accident," Adeline said quietly, feeling tears brim in her eyes at George's outburst._

_George realized he might have—okay, **was** too harsh on the child as he saw the sincerity in the child's eyes, and he began to feel guilty for being too harsh on her. He was ready to apologize when he was interrupted by the arrival of Prince Louis and his fencing master._

_"Good heavens, what happened to you, George?" Prince Louis asked him. George felt himself blushing in embarrassment, knowing that Prince Louis was probably enjoying his humiliation right now. He and the Prince of France really did not see eye-to-eye, the both of them always trying to beat each other at something, like fashion; fencing; and among other things._

_Prince Louis was two years younger than George, about nine years old, and had light brown hair and green eyes. He was small in stature and looked a bit young for his age, but the young toddler girl was looking at him with such admiration that it almost made George sick. Realizing he still didn't answer the prince's question, he stood up straighter, trying to hide his emotion and show the prince that he still had some dignity left, and responded._

_"I fell into the pond, Your Highness."_

_"I see, but how did you fall into the pond?"_

_"I…" George began, too embarrassed to tell the prince that he got bested by a little girl. "Adeline and I were just playing a game, and we got carried away and I fell."_

_"I see," Prince Louis said, his tone hinting he did not believe him, his eyes darting back and forth between George and Adeline. He then took a good look at Adeline, looking over her features, realizing that they looked rather familiar._

_"Adeline, what is your surname?"_

_"It be d'Artagnan, Your Highness," Adeline responded with a bow._

_"D'Artagnan? As in the daughter of Bertrand d'Artagnan?" Prince Louis asked in astonishment._

_"Yes, Your Highness," Adeline said, her chest puffing out with pride, with a proud smile on her face._

_"Well, it is an honor to finally meet someone from the d'Artagnan family," Prince Louis said. "My father has told me many stories of the famous musketeer, you must be very proud of your father. Tell me the truth, though, young one, did you actually best George here into falling in the pond?"_

_George expected Adeline to tell the prince yes, but, instead, she said, "It be a accident, Your Highness." George wasn't sure to feel relieved or grateful with that statement._

_Prince Louis looked disappointed with Adeline not giving him the details on how George fell, but he just gave her a smile. "Well, accidents do happen."_

_"François!" the prince then called his servant._

_"Your Highness?"_

_"A towel, would you, please?"_

_François handed a towel to Prince Louis who then threw it to George. George caught it, wrapping it around him to try to dry himself. "Do be careful next time, George, I don't want you dirtying up my father's ponds," Prince Louis said, making George bristle._

_'**Oh, shove it, you spoiled-rotten prince**,' George said to him in his head, wishing he could really say it out-loud. His father would kill him, though, if he ever said that outloud to the prince, and he would disgrace the family name by doing so._

_"Good day to you both," Prince Louis said as he left._

_"Your Highness," Adeline and George said with a bow, though the latter really wished to just wrap this towel around the prince's throat and strangle him._

_"Come on, let's head back," George said to Adeline, indicating her to follow him back to their parents._

_Adeline followed him, trying to stay a few feet away from him because she got the feeling he was still mad at her for what she did and wanted to give him the space. She still didn't like him, but she also felt bad for making him fall in that pond. When they arrived back to their parents, who were in a deep conversation, Adeline was greeted by a worry-wart mother and George by a irate father._

_"What happened to the two of you? Are you okay?" Céline asked the two children._

_"He be chasing me, maman, and he fell in King's pond," Adeline explained first to her mother. Adeline tried to tell her mother how mean George was being by saying he was chasing her, but her mother didn't seem to catch it, she just thought the term 'chasing' meant playing._

_"You're not hurt, are you, George?" Céline asked, surprising George. Normally, whenever he did things like this, he would receive a snapping from his father or his tutor, but this woman was showing him care and comfort, which is something he was not used to._

_"I'm fine," he lied. He did feel a slight bump on the top of his head, but he let it slide. It was just a bump, so it would disappear in a few days or so, it did hurt, though._

_"Well, I'm glad to hear you are fine, my son," the Duke said to his son, coming around and patting him on the shoulder before leaning down in his ear. "We will talk later about this insubordination." He gave George a hard squeeze on the shoulder, making him wince, but he kept his mouth shut. He knew his father would only get upset if he showed any weakness in public._

_"Come, let us head back, the King must be done with the meeting with your musketeers," the Duke said, taking Céline from her daughter and back inside._

_Adeline watched the Duke lead her mother away with hurt in her eyes, and it did not go unnoticed by George._

_He sighed as he knew that look all too well, it was the same look he used to have when he was younger whenever his father paid no heed to him. Whenever his father seduced married women, especially ones who had young children, he would always manage to steer their attention away from their children, and it was always George who would see the sadness in the children's eyes. He knew that feeling all too well, so he knew what it was like to have someone steal all your mother or father's attention away from you, but then again, George never received any attention from his father since he was born. He yearned for it, but never showed it because his father said emotion was a weakness, and that was probably why George was not offering any comfort to Adeline; plus, the word 'comfort' was a foreign thing to him, he didn't know how to do it. He just nudged the little girl forward, and they both followed their parents back inside the palace where King Henry, Bertrand, and Damien were waiting for them._

_All three of the men were the first to notice George's state once the group came back in, and Bertrand and Damien had to hold their laughter in. They knew what, or who, caused the boy to be in such a state as they both looked knowingly at Adeline._

_"George, what happened to you?" King Henry asked the Duke's son with a concerned tone._

_"It was just a mere accident, Your Majesty," the Duke answered for George. "He and Adeline were playing, and my son," He said the word 'my son' in almost a disapproving way, "tripped and fell in one of your ponds. I am very sorry, Your Majesty, it won't happen again."_

_"Oh, do not fret over it, Lord Buckingham, it was only a pond," King Henry said. "As long as your son was not hurt, then everything is alright." He then turned to the d'Artagnan men. "It was good to see you and your family again, Bertrand, I do hope to see your women at my wife's coronation."_

_"Of course, my lord."_

_"Good day to you and your family."_

_"And good day to you too," Bertrand said before turning his attention to Adeline and Céline. "Come on, Adeline, we're leaving now." Adeline ran into her father's arms, and Bertrand held out his hand to his wife who gladly took it, bidding the Duke of Buckingham and His Majesty goodbye, and walked out with her family with the Duke's gaze following her._

* * *

><p><em>It was the next day where the d'Artagnan family were at their town house in Paris, Bertrand and Damien were with Athos outside with his fencing lesson while Céline was looking for her daughter…<strong>AGAIN!<strong>_

_'**Why is that girl always wondering off? Just like her damn father, always roaming around from place to place. I swear, both my husband and my daughter will give me grey hairs earlier than expected**,' she mused as she continued searching for Adeline. She decided to go outside and ask the men if they had seen Adeline._

_"Bertrand!"_

_"Yes, my darling?"_

_"Have you seen Adeline? I can't find her anywhere, and we are going to be late for our appointment if I don't find her soon."_

_"She's probably hiding from you, ma chérie, you know how she gets when you are about to take her to a seamstress."_

_"Well, then, can you help me find her?" Céline snapped in agitation. "I don't have time for this!"_

_"I will in a minute, chérie," Bertrand said. His wife then went back inside, and Bertrand turned to Athos. "Excuse me, Athos, I must find my missing daughter."_

_"I believe you won't have to, Bertrand," Damien said. He then pointed at an old, worn-out wagon where the men and the boy could see a figure hiding under it. "There is your missing daughter."_

_Bertrand chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, my little wild flower," he said as he walked towards the wagon, crouching down, so he could see his daughter. "What are you doing under there?"_

_"Shh," Adeline said, putting a finger to her lips, indicating him to be quiet, "I be hiding from maman. She be taking me to that dress lady, and I not wanna go! I not like dresses."_

_"Don't we all know this," Bertrand said. "Come, Adeline, come out from under there, you will only be in a dress just once."_

_"But it be a dress!"_

_"It is only just once, ma chérie, it couldn't hurt just once," Bertrand tried to convince his daughter._

_"No!" Adeline said firmly, shaking her head._

_Bertrand sighed. "Alright, my little wildflower, you are not going to like what I am about to do, but you leave me no other choice," he said._

_Adeline looked at her father in confusion before she screamed as her father grabbed and pulled her out from under the wagon. "NO! I not wanna go! Put me down, papa!"_

_"I'm sorry, ma chérie, but I can't do that."_

_"Oncle Damien, help me!"_

_"No can do, Adeline."_

_Adeline then turned her attention to Athos. "Athos, please help?"_

_"You are looking at the wrong person to help you, young one," Athos responded, an amused smile coming on his lips._

_Adeline crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out to him. "Coward," she said._

_"No, not a coward, a smart person."_

_The two grown d'Artagnan men laughed._

_"Honey, guess what I found?" Bertrand called out to his wife in the house._

_"What?" Céline poked her head out of the bedroom window and sighed with relief when she saw her daughter in her husband's arms. "Finally! I'll be done in a minute."_

_"Papa, I not wanna wear a dress, I wanna wear trousers," Adeline said to her father._

_"I know you do, Adeline, but I do not think Marie de Medici would appreciate a beautiful young lady to be wearing trousers at her coronation," Bertrand replied. "I'll tell you what, though, if you wear a dress at the coronation, I swear that would be the last dress you have to wear."_

_"Promise?"_

_"I promise."_

_"Okay."_

_Adeline said this a little reluctantly, but she would do anything for her father in order not to wear a dress ever again. It was then that her mother came out in one of her other best gowns, carrying a bag of money, and Bertrand set his daughter down._

_"Come, Adeline, we need to get going, we are going to be late because of your little hide-and-seek game," Céline said. "We should be back soon." She said this to her husband and brother._

_"Be safe, dear."_

_"I will, I learned from you on how to defend myself, remember?"_

_"So you did, but I still stand by on what I said," Bertrand said, chuckling. "Au revoir, my dearies!"_

_"Au revoir!"_

_Céline grabbed the hand of a reluctant Adeline and lead her out into the streets to see this seamstress. Adeline was not looking forward to seeing this seamstress and with each step she took with her mother, she dread it even more. It was not just the fact that she had to try on a dress that made Adeline dread it, it was also the fact that she had to meet the seamstress. She just knew for a fact that the seamstress was going to be like all the others: a big meanie and old with gray hair and wrinkles. She dreaded it even more, however, when she saw who else was there._

_She and her mother stepped into a dress shop called Fleur's Finest Clothing, and the first thing Adeline heard was a young deep voice that sounded very familiar._

_"Father, must we really add the ruff to the outfit? It is so old fashioned and it itches my neck…"_

_"You will wear what I tell you to wear! If you do not like it, then you shall have that old wench look after you while I am at the coronation," came another deep voice. This one sounded a lot older, though. The two voices obviously belonged to men._

_"Fine," the younger one said, sighing in defeat._

_Adeline looked up and saw the same boy from yesterday. Although she still felt bad for what she did to him yesterday, she still did not like him, he was a big meanie. George was standing on a stool in front of a mirror while a seamstress was fitting his outfit._

_"Ouch! Watch the needles, will you?"_

_"I'm sorry, Monsieur, it won't happen again, just stay still, please?" the seamstress said._

_Adeline was suddenly wishing for her father to be here with her._

_One of the other ladies, who worked there, came up to them with a lovely smile on her face. "Hello, welcome to Fleur's Finest Clothing, how may I help you today?" she greeted._

_It was then that George noticed the two new costumers and groaned in annoyance when he recognized them as Céline and Adeline d'Artagnan. '**Great! Now we are going to be here even longer**,' he thought, knowing his father would not be able to resist using his charm on Madame d'Artagnan. He could already see the look his father was giving her, but Céline acted like she didn't notice._

_"We are here for an appointment," Céline responded to the seemingly nice lady. "My name is Céline d'Artagnan and this here is my daughter Adeline."_

_"Ah, yes, of course! I hear the little one is to be fitted for Marie de Medici's coronation. That must be exciting, isn't it?" the lady asked Adeline._

_"It be exciting if I not wear a dress," Adeline responded._

_Céline was about to scold her daughter for that when she was interrupted by the sound of the young lady's laughter. "Do not fret, dearie, you will only be wearing the dress for a day," she said. "Besides, you will be dressing for His Majesty's wife."_

_That still did not make Adeline feel any better, but the lady's kindness seemed to make Adeline relax a little bit._

_"My name is Maria, and I will be little Adeline's seamstress for today. Why don't you come with me and I show you what we have," Maria said as she escorted them to a cabinet that was filled with what looked like rolls of fabric. She pulled out some and laid them out on the table. "Exactly what is it you are looking for, Madame d'Artagnan?"_

_"I am looking for something that is elegant, but nothing too grand, I just want her to look good," Céline responded. "I want something simple, but elegant."_

_"Simple? Céline, don't you think that your daughter deserves something more than just simple, your daughter is such a beautiful young lady," came the Duke's voice, making Céline jump and turn her attention to him._

_"Oh, Lord Buckingham, I'm sorry, I did not know you were here," Céline said._

_"There is no need to apologize," the Duke said. "I see you are picking out young Adeline's dress. May I be of assistant?"_

_"Oh, um…"_

_"How about this? It will make her look like a lady," the Duke said, deciding to help without Céline's permission, pointing to one of the pink fabrics._

_"Oh, I am not too sure about that, Lord Buckingham, Adeline is not so fond of that color," Céline said._

_"Well, she will be fond of it now once she sees herself in her dress."_

_"If I may cut in, my lord," Maria began, "but I do not think that color will look good on young Adeline, and as her mother, shouldn't Madame d'Artagnan know what looks good on her daughter?"_

_"I'm sorry, Mamoiselle, but I believe it is up to me and Madame d'Artagnan of what looks good on Adeline," the Duke snapped, making Maria look downcast._

_"I'm sorry, my lord."_

_Adeline looked up at the Duke, giving him the meanest look a three year old could give to someone. She may be only three, but she could understand what was going on and did not like it. The jerk had no reason to yell at the nice lady, and he was not going to make her wear a pink dress. She will wear any dress for her father, but certainly not for this big meanie! She went up to her mother and tugged on her skirts, and her mother turned her attention to her. "Maman, I not wanna wear pink, I not like pink," she said._

_"Wouldn't your mother have a say in what you wear, Mamoiselle d'Artagnan?" the Duke responded to the child._

_Adeline ignored him as she begged her mother more. "Please, maman, do not make me wear pink," she said._

_"Well, ma chérie, as the Duke said, it is up to me to decide, okay?" Céline responded. It seemed that she was falling for the Duke's charm again. "I do not think pink could hurt, darling. Besides, you will look beautiful."_

_"But—"_

_"Listen to your mother, little one, she knows what she is talking about," the Duke interrupted, his tone sounding imperious, giving her a look that told her to listen or else._

_Adeline didn't like the tone or the look and was about to step up to him to show him what she was made of, but Céline stopped her, giving her a disapproving look. "Adeline, do not start that, especially towards Lord Buckingham, it is disrespectful!" she said._

_"But, maman, he—"_

_"No, I will hear none of it, now apologize to him," Céline demanded._

_Adeline would normally stand her ground, but she knew her mother would not be happy and sighed in defeat before looking up at the Duke head on, glaring at him, and said, "I swary," before turning her back to him, crossing her arms across her chest with her nose in the air. The Duke glared at the young girl, realizing that the child was definitely like her father, and did not like her spirit one bit. '**I will have to break that spirit of hers when her mother becomes my wife**,' he thought._

_"We will definitely take the pink one," the Duke said to Maria._

_George could see and hear from where he was standing the reaction between his father and the d'Artagnan family. He was rather aloof to it, but when he saw the little girl turn away from the adults, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. The little girl looked rather angry at first, but then her expression changed to a miserable one. This wasn't the first time George had seen something like this, and he was used to it, but there was something about the look on that little girl's that made him want to do something, and he hated it. He looked over and saw his father and Céline looking over the pink fabric, trying to figure out what to do with the dress, making George make a disgusted face. He was imagining the little girl in that kind of color, and it was not a pretty site. Pink just did not seem like her color, it didn't go very well with her complexion._

_He sighed, not really believing he was doing this for an annoying little harridan. '**This better be worth the trouble**,' he thought, for he knew his father would get angry for trying to interfere in his plans to charm Madame d'Artagnan. He brushed the seamstress away and then got down from the stool, approaching the group._

_"I think you are making a huge mistake, Madame d'Artagnan," he told them, making all eyes turn towards him._

_"Mistake? George, whatever do you mean by that?" Céline asked._

_"Yes, George, what do you mean by that?" his father said, giving him a cold look that warned him to stay out of it. George, however, surprisingly, stood his ground._

_"I think you are making a huge mistake by choosing that fabric," he said. "The color is much too bright, and your daughter's complexion is pale, the color won't look good on her."_

_"And what does the color have to do with your complexion?" the Duke asked in a haughty tone._

_"Everything, actually." George grabbed the pink fabric and held it beside Adeline. "Look at how well the color matches with her complexion. If she wears this at the coronation, she might as well be part of the furniture."_

_"George, that is enough!" the Duke said. "This is not any of your business, it is adult business."_

_"No, wait, let him say what he has to say," Céline said, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The Duke would have snapped, but this is the woman he was trying to charm back into his world, so he kept his mouth shut so that he could stay in her good graces._

_Céline then turned back to George. "Go on."_

_"If you want something that will make your daughter stand out, then I would suggest something that does not fit her complexion, maybe something darker or something that would go well with her eyes."_

_"What would you suggest then?"_

_George looked at the pieces of fabric that were on the table until he spotted one that he thought would look well on Adeline. "This one," he said, pointing at the emerald green silk fabric, "it matches her eye color and it will make them pop out." He held the fabric next to Adeline and it looked as if Adeline's emerald eyes had stood out._

_"Wow, you're right, it does," Céline said as she admired the fabric on her daughter, "but silk is very expensive, I am not sure if I will be able to afford this…"_

_"Father will pay the rest what you can't pay, I'm sure," George responded._

_"Really?" Céline asked, looking at the Duke._

_The Duke looked at his son, who gave him a nod, and he looked back at Céline and gave her a confident smile to reassure. "Of course I will, anything to make your daughter look her best and stand out from the rest," he said._

_"You are very generous, my lord. Thank you."_

_"Anything for an old friend, my lady."_

* * *

><p><em>After Adeline was fitted for her dress, she and her mother were ready to head back home, but first Céline had to pay for the dress. Adeline was a little thankful to the boy who helped her mom out of her wearing that ugly pink dress and liked the green one better, but it was still a dress.<em>

_Céline paid her half for the dress then the Duke paid his half, and it was when they finished paying that Adeline let out a yawn and laid her head on her mother's shoulder. "Are you getting tired, chérie?" Céline asked her daughter. "It is past your nap time, after all."_

_"No, I not sleepy," Adeline responded, but the evidence suggested differently, especially with her eyes drooping and beginning to doze off on her mother's shoulder. She tried to stay awake because she wanted to see her father before she fell asleep and took her head off her mother's shoulder to keep herself awake._

_Céline chuckled at her daughter's fight to stay awake, knowing it would not be long before her daughter fell into a deep slumber. "Thank you, my Lord Buckingham, for helping to pay for Adeline's dress, I want her to look her best at the coronation," Céline said once she, the Duke, and his son walked out of the store._

_"It is no trouble at all, milady, young Adeline deserves nothing but the best," the Duke said, patting the top of Adeline's head in what would have been an affectionate way to Céline, but a threatening way to Adeline, especially with that evil glint in his eyes._

_Adeline turned away from him, hiding her face in her mother's shoulder and holding onto her tightly. It was something that her mother did not approve of since it was not polite to turn away from a noble when they were looking at them directly. However, Céline figured it was because her daughter was tired or did not appreciate being touched by another man that way, only her father and uncle were allowed to, or both._

_"I'm sorry, my lord, Adeline is just tired, please forgive her rudeness," she said to the Duke._

_"It is fine, Madame d'Artagnan, but I expect her to be more courteous the next time I see her."_

_"Yes, of course, my lord," Céline said, blushing in embarrassment._

_"Shall I escort the lady and her daughter back to her home?" the Duke asked. "It is quite dangerous for a woman with her child to be walking alone in Paris."_

_"No, that will not be necessary, my lord, but thank you," Céline refused. She did not think her husband would be too happy to see the Duke of Buckingham escorting her home, especially with the grudge that still exists between them._

_"Very well, milady, you have a good rest of the afternoon," the Duke said, taking Céline's hand and kissing it._

_"As you do too, my lord," Céline said, bowing before turning her heels and heading back home._

_The Duke watched her walk away until she was out of his sight, and he turned his attention to George. He grabbed onto his left ear, pinching and pulling onto it, making George wince in pain. "Now you listen to me, you interfering brat, the next time you interfere like that, you'll find your arse in a boarding school, do you hear me?" he gritted out through his teeth._

_George had no choice but to say yes, it was either that or continue to be in pain and have a bruise on his ear for the next few days. "Yes, sir."_

_The Duke seemed satisfied with that answer as he gave him an approving smile and finally let go of George's ear. "Come, let us go, we have much to do," he said as he headed in the opposite direction Céline went._

_As George rubbed his now sore ear, he began to wish he never really helped the little harridan, but more importantly, he wished he had a different life than that of a noble._


	3. Prologue Pt 3: The Death of a Great Musk

**A/N: WARNING! I have to warn you readers because I know there are some people who are a little ehhh on some graphic stuff, there is going to be a bit of a sex scene in here, but it is not that explicit, if that's what you are wondering, but if it bothers you, just skip the part if you like.**

**Summary: Adeline has always been considered a very spirited woman, even as a little girl, and has dreams of becoming a musketeer like her father, but as a woman, of course, she cannot be one. She has been in the care of both her mother and uncle ever since her father died when she was only three, and has been trained by her uncle to be the best swordswoman there ever was in history, but with Adeline 19 and no husband and the possibility of her uncle dying and losing the farm, she is to wed Gérard Leroy, her arch nemesis. But when the Comte de Rochefort comes in, invades her home, and kills her best friend, Henri, Adeline has sworn vengeance on him. Going to Paris to search for Rochefort, she ends up running into the three legendary musketeers known as The Inseparables and they all discover a plot to overthrow the King of France. Teaming up with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, Adeline tries to stop the evil, treacherous Milady de Winter and her employer from engulfing the whole world into war and destroying the very nation of France. Will Adeline and the three legendary musketeers be able to stop them in time?**

**Rated: M, just to be safe for about now for violence, language, sexual references, nudity, and sex scenes.**

**Timeline: 17th century. 1610 and 1628.**

**I do not own any of the characters from Summit Entertainment or Disney, except for Adeline and a few others I made in this story, Alexandre Dumas, Paul Anderson, and Stephen Herek owns the rest.**

**Enjoy.**

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><p><strong><em>P<em>****_r_****_o_****_l_****_o_****_gue Part Three: _****_T_****_h_****_e Death of a Great Musketeer_**

_"WHAT? You're leaving? But—But why? Why so soon?"_

_Céline had only gotten home an hour ago and had put her sleeping daughter to bed when her husband and brother had showed up with the Comte de la Fère to tell her some news—some very bad news, in her opinion._

_"His Majesty is going on a short business trip, and it is our duties as musketeers to go with him and protect him from harm."_

_"But, Bertrand, what about your daughter and I? Who will take care of us while you two are away?" Céline really did not want her husband and brother to leave so soon after only seeing them for a week and two days._

_"Do not fret about that, mon amour, I went up to the Come de la Fère here, and he promised me that he would take you and Adeline into the hotel he is staying in as guests and make sure you are taken care of."_

_"But," Céline began, trying to keep her husband here with her, "why do you have to leave right away? Can't you two stay longer? What about Adeline?"_

_No sooner had she mentioned her name did Adeline's tired voice came from behind her. "Maman? Papa? What be goin' on?"_

_She stood at the bottom of the stairs in nothing but her nightgown and holding her teddy bear in one hand while rubbing her tired eyes in a fist with the other. She had woken up to the sound of her mother and father talking and become scared when she heard the distress in her mother's tone, and even more so when she heard her mother asking her father if he had to leave. She didn't want her father to leave!_

_"Papa, you be leaving?" Adeline ran up to her father, running into his open arms before he lifted her up._

_"I am afraid I must, ma chérie."_

_"But why? I want you to stay here."_

_"I know, I wish to stay here too, but His Majesty needs me to work, and I cannot deny His Majesty's request."_

_"Papa, please stay!"_

_"I am sorry, ma fille, but I must go, it is my duty as a musketeer to go and escort the king safely to his destination and back," Bertrand said, feeling his heart being torn in two by leaving his daughter here. Hearing her beg him to stay was making it harder for him to leave._

_"Can I go with you?" Adeline asked._

_"No, I am afraid this is a man's business, a young lady such as yourself should not be getting involved in a man's business," Bertrand replied. When Adeline pouted, crossed her arms, and gave him an angry look, he continued, "Now, Adeline, we talked about this before, remember?"_

_Adeline nodded, remembering their conversation the night her father came back home._

_"Then why the sad face?"_

_"I wanna go wit' you, prove His Majesty that I be as good as you, papa," Adeline responded. Bertrand could feel the glaring eyes of his wife on him, and no sooner he made eye contact with her, he looked back to his daughter. He knew Céline would be angry if she found out he was encouraging his daughter to be a musketeer._

_"Adeline, you are too young for that sort of thing," Bertrand told his daughter. "It is not that I do not believe in you, I just think you are not ready for this kind of thing. I would blame myself if anything happened to you. When you are older, maybe His Majesty would allow you to come on one of my trips." This seemed to make Adeline feel a little better because her face brightened up. "Just remember what I said that night, though: there will be a lot of people who won't believe in you and that is why you have to prove those people wrong—show them that you are worthy enough to be a musketeer like your oncle and I, do you understand?"_

_"Yes, papa." Adeline then gave her father a look of curiosity and then asked, "Do I be proving you wrong, papa?"_

_"Oh, every minute of everyday, my little wild flower," Bertrand said with an affectionate smile, and that was the truth. Little Adeline **did** prove him wrong everyday. Her determination and her feisty spirit made Bertrand believe his daughter could be a musketeer one day if she really went for it._

_Adeline responded by giving her father one of her winning-franc smiles that just made everyone in the room smile._

_"Now, say goodbye to your oncle Damien."_

_Bertrand set his daughter on the ground, and Adeline ran to her uncle while he approached his wife._

_"You know, you shouldn't encourage her to be a musketeer, it is no place for a woman," Céline scolded at him, clearly not approving of her daughter wanting to be a musketeer. She wanted her daughter to act like a proper lady._

_"Well, I believe that she will do great in the world, even as a woman," Bertrand replied. "She **does** have the spirit of a musketeer, after all."_

_"Along with her father's temper, no doubt," Céline said, recalling the incident with Gérard not too long ago._

_Bertrand chuckled. "No doubt," he said before leaning down and kissing his wife passionately._

_Despite being mad at her husband right now, Céline found herself returning the kiss. She could never stay mad at him for long with that effect he had on her. "This doesn't mean that I forgive you for encouraging our daughter to be a swashbuckler," she said._

_"I knew it wouldn't, but I just do it because I can, mon amour," Bertrand said with that handsome, devilish smirk of his that made Céline go weak in her knees. "Besides," he then leaned down and whispered huskily in her ear, "you love this swashbuckler, don't you?"_

_Céline was thankful that her husband was holding her in his arms, or else she would have fallen to the ground. Bertrand was aware of the effect he had on his wife, and it just made him smirk even more before adding a wink to it._

_"Sometimes I wonder if it is a plague that will be the death of me or you," Céline said._

_"From the looks of it, I have to say it would be me," Bertrand said._

_Damien, seeing how his brother and sister were getting **quite** affectionate, decided to give them some time alone together before they were to leave for the trip, and just by making eye contact with the Comte, he could see that he agreed as well. "Ahem! I think we will give the two of you some alone time before we have to leave," he said, gaining their attention._

_"Come, Adeline, why don't the Comte de la Fère and I show you a demonstration on fencing?"_

_Adeline's eyes brightened at the thought and eagerly nodded, pulling her uncle out of the house. "Okay, but I wanna learn what you and the Comte do!" she said._

_Once the couple was alone, they both turned their attention back to each other. "Now that we are alone…"_

_Bertrand leaned down to kiss his wife again only to have her stop him, making him growl in impatience._

_"Wait a minute, darling, but shouldn't you and Damien be leaving? I mean, we won't have for…for this," Céline said, referring to what they were about to do._

_"I got ten minutes, (1) we have all the time in the world until then."_

_Céline smiled and then laughed when her husband picked her up bridal style, and he then took her up to the master bedroom. In the next ten minutes, there was nothing but the sound of a husband and wife making love to each other._

* * *

><p><em>Bertrand laid on top of his wife for a few minutes after their love-making fest, both panting and sweating and out of breath. Céline was reminded of the fact why she could never stay mad at her husband for so long. She loved, but hated him for it. Bertrand tried to pull out, but Céline squeezed her thighs against his, keeping him firmly in place, making him smirk teasingly at her.<em>

_"Still not relaxed, my dear wife?" he asked, his tone matching his smirk. His wife had been rather…**aggressive** during their love-making._

_"Never in this lifetime," Céline responded seductively, earning a chuckle from her husband._

_They were then interrupted by Damien calling his brother from downstairs, and the latter responded back to him before turning back to his wife. "I must go," he said, trying to lessen the tight hold his wife had on him._

_"But why must you go?" She hoped she could delay her husband's leave a while longer._

_"I must protect our king, mon amour, it is my duty."_

_Reluctantly, she let him go, and he finally pulled out of her, getting up and getting dressed before she herself got up and got dressed. It took them a few minutes before they were dressed and appropriate-looking and were heading downstairs._

_"Are you ready, brother?" Damien asked._

_"Ready."_

_"Papa, please do not go!" Adeline cried as she ran to her father and embraced him around the legs._

_"It is only going to be a week, ma chérie, I promise I will be back soon." Bertrand tried to reassure his daughter._

_"But why you not stay with us, papa?"_

_"Now, you know the answer to that, Adeline," Bertrand said as he lifted his daughter up. Adeline did know the answer, but it still did not make her happy with it. "Don't worry, I will be back before you know it. Be good for your mother and be polite to the Comte de la Fère and his family while your oncle and I are away, okay?"_

_"Okay, I lub you, papa," Adeline said, giving her father a kiss._

_"I love you too, my little wildflower," Bertrand said before setting his daughter down and turning his attention to his wife. He gave her a long, gentle goodbye kiss. "Au revoir, mon amour, I love you until the end of time."_

_"And I love you the same, only more," Céline said. "Au revoir, and be safe."_

_Both Damien and Bertrand bid their last goodbye to them before finally going away on the trip to protect their king. Adeline watched them go away with great sadness as if it would be the last she would see them while Céline made a quick prayer in her head, hoping that the Good Lord will keep her loved ones safe._

* * *

><p><em>The first night Céline slept in the guest room of the Comte's house (2) was an awful night. She couldn't sleep due to the fact she was missing the warmth of her husband lying right next to her last night. She was pretty used to her husband coming and going, but that still did not mean she enjoyed having him away for such a long period of time. She was thankful, though, that she had Adeline sleeping right next to her. Her daughter woke up later that night, claiming she had a nightmare about her père dying. When Adeline told her mother about her nightmare, it caused the latter to fear for her husband's safety, so she sent another prayer to the heavens for her men to return home safely. Adeline was a sense of comfort to Céline, though, since her husband's spirit was within the child, but, more importantly, she was safe in her arms.<em>

_The next few days, Céline found herself without her husband by her side almost bearable, especially with her daughter sleeping with her every night. She kept on having nightmares about her father, and it concerned Céline, but she figured they were only nightmares and she tried to comfort her daughter in the best way she could, telling her the nightmares weren't real. During her stay at the Comte's house, she had gotten a surprise visit from the Duke of Buckingham, who was invited to lunch by the Comte. While Athos expressed concern that he was only invited to lunch because the Duke managed to charm his father in order to get close to her, Céline only believed it to be a business the Duke and the Comte wished to discuss. Both Adeline and Athos seemed to create a certain amount of dislike towards both the Duke and George, even the Comte's wife Elaine seemed to not like them. It was only Céline and the Comte that had a certain fondness for the Duke and George._

_Also, Adeline did not like the fact that her mother was becoming so fond of the big meanie when all he was was a fake. One day, while Céline and the Comte were not in a room with their guests, Adeline, who was in the next room, overheard the Duke explaining to George about a plan to take her mother away from her father. This did not go very well with Adeline, and she immediately dropped what she had been doing and strode into the room, telling the Duke she was going to tell her maman what he was trying to do. Needless to say, though, the confrontation didn't end well…_

_"You not be taking my maman from my papa!" she snapped at him, stomping her foot on the floor and glaring defiantly at him. "I be telling my maman!"_

_ She made to go after her mother to tell her what she heard, but she was stopped by the Duke, grabbing a hold of her upper arm. She fought against him, punching at the hand that held her arm and kicking and screaming for her mother._

_"Maman! He—"_

_Her scream was then silenced by a resounding 'slap' and Adeline found herself holding her right cheek where the Duke had slapped her in shock. She had never been slapped before in her entire short years of life, not even her father when most upset with her never laid a hand on her. Adeline found herself crying, sobbing out-loud._

_"Shut up, you little harridan brat!" the Duke snapped, shaking the little girl. "You even so much as breathe a word of what you heard, you will find your father gasping with his last breath, do you understand me?"_

_"Father, let her go!" George exclaimed._

_"Stay out of this, George!" the Duke snapped at his son before turning back to Adeline. "Well? Do you understand me or not?"_

_Although Adeline understood the Duke was capable of hurting her again, she stood her ground with tears in her eyes. "I-I tell m-my maman about you, s-she be angry w-with y-y-you," she said._

_"Oh, really? And what if I told your mother that you disrespected me in front of my own son?"_

_"She never believe you!"_

_"You've already done it before, she didn't even take your side the last time. What makes you believe she'll believe you this time?"_

_"But maman…"_

_"She will only see you as a spoiled, lying little brat if you tell her." Adeline could feel tears brimming in her eyes, wondering if what the Duke said was true. She **did** choose his side before. However, Adeline tried to remain confident that her mother would believe her over the big meanie._

_"Maman believe in me."_

_The Duke laughed harshly. "I doubt it," he said. "You are nothing but a little harridan, she will believe my word over yours. If you want to see your father alive, keep your mouth shut, do you understand me?"_

_Adeline found herself nodding to him, feeling shame for letting this man overpower her, but also hurt for what he said. He was right, though, her mother would believe him over her, she's done it before already. It was then that Céline, the Comte, and Athos came in the room, and the Duke immediately let go of Adeline's arm. The latter started to sob out-loud again, and, just to make it look like it was an accident, the Duke picked her up, pretending to soothe her._

_"What happened here?" Céline asked with a concerned tone, running up to them and taking Adeline from the Duke's arms to hers. Adeline welcomed her mother's embrace, crying on her shoulder._

_"Little Adeline got into an accident, she fell and hit her arm really bad," the Duke lied._

_"Oh, chérie, are you alright?"_

_Adeline did not answer her mother right away. She looked to the Duke, who gave her a menacing glance that warned her of the danger if she ever told her mom the truth, so she just said, "I be fine, it just hurt."_

_"Let's get it checked out, then."_

_When Céline looked over Adeline's sore arm, everybody could see a red mark was forming, and Athos knew that that was no accident. The marks on the child's arm was not caused by a fall and hitting one of the armchairs because Athos could see the handprint on it and knew that the Duke of Buckingham did something to hurt little Adeline. It suddenly made Athos red with anger. Despite not being comfortable around girl children, Athos had developed a type of fondness for the little girl, and he felt a surge of anger at somebody hurting his friend, especially since that friend was the daughter of his fencing mentor whom he highly respected. He did not confront the Duke directly; instead, he confronted the Duke's son._

_"I am going to make this very clear to you and your father: if you so much as touch Adeline or hurt her again in any way, I will make sure you will regret it."_

_George looked rather indignant at the threatening tone, especially since it wasn't him that hurt the little girl. "If you wish to look at the actual source that hurt your friend, look to my father. I actually tried to get him to let her go, but he didn't listen to me. It wasn't my fault that the girl eavesdropped on us and provoked my father's ire…"_

_"That did not give you the reason to hurt her!"_

_"For the last time, I did not hurt her, it was my father who did."_

_"But you allowed him to hurt her. I personally don't see a difference when one hurts her and the other allows him to…"_

_"However you look at it, Monsieur, but I did not hurt her nor did I have any intention to. If she hadn't eavesdropped, then maybe she wouldn't have gotten hurt."_

_It was then that Athos stopped and thought for a moment right there. If she hadn't eavesdropped? What did he mean by that? Had Adeline eavesdropped on a conversation between them and heard something that must have upset her and set the Duke into a fit of panic that he would hurt her? Athos thought it possible, he did not know much of his mentor's personal life, but he has heard that the d'Artagnan family had a past with the Duke of Buckingham. He was beginning to wonder if what Adeline heard between the Duke and his son had anything to do with that. Athos wanted to get information out of George, but he knew that George would have kept his mouth shut, so he didn't ask. When he tried asking Adeline what had really happened, Adeline gave him this wide, fearful look and told him what the Duke told her mother. Athos wasn't buying it one bit and knew that the Duke must have threatened her to keep her mouth shut, but he knew that in time the truth would come out._

_Over the past next week, though, whenever the Duke was not around, Adeline was still her happy-go-lucky self. She was still very kind and her usual feisty self, something that Athos was glad of._

_It was the morning of Marie de Medici's coronation, and Athos was getting ready in his room when he suddenly heard a noise from outside._

_"Adeline, come back here now!"_

_Curious as to see what mischief Adeline was up to now, Athos stepped out of his room and was greeted by a little girl running down the hallway in nothing but her undergarments. Thankfully, Athos caught her in time before she could make it to the door. "Whoa! Now, hold up there, little one, you aren't going to the coronation looking like this," he said._

_"I not go to the cor'nation!" Adeline cried._

_"You're not? Why not?" Athos figured what the reason was, but he just feigned ignorance to it._

_"'Cause maman make me wear a dress, and I not wanna wear a dress!"_

_It was then that Adeline's mother came up to them, a look of annoyance on her face, but also relieved at the sight of Adeline in Athos' arms. "Oh, Monsieur Athos, merci!" she said, knowing she would be embarrassed if the Comte or his wife saw her daughter in nothing but her undergarments._

_"Adeline, you are getting in that dress whether you like it or not! Now, come with me and put on your dress."_

_"No!"_

_"Adeline, do not start this again with me…"_

_"No!"_

_"Adeline Josephina Maria, I will force you into that dress if I have to!"_

_"I not wanna wear a dress!"_

_"Adeline…" Céline began in a warning tone._

_"Madame d'Artagnan, why don't I take care of this?" Athos asked. He could see that the woman was at the brink of her boiling point and decided it best to intervene._

_Céline sighed in aggravation, wishing that her daughter would just listen to her, but she figured that Adeline would listen to Athos more than her, so she nodded, giving the boy her consent._

_"Now, Adeline," Athos began, "why are you so determined not to wear a dress? You have been invited to attend a coronation—a most important event—and you won't go because of a dress you don't want to wear?"_

_"But Athos, what if there be big meanies there like 'erwad who try to look under my dress?" Adeline whined, her emerald eyes widening in fear._

_"Who?"_

_"'Erwad Le'oy, he be a big meanie in my village, and he look under my dress all time when I wear one."_

_"Oh, well, how do you know if there are going to be any boys like Gérard at the coronation?"_

_"I not know, but what if there be?"_

_"Then you will never know if you don't go," Athos said. "Adeline, it is not lady-like if you just go in a pair of trousers, Marie de Medici does not want beautiful young ladies attending her coronation in a pair of trousers."_

_"But dresses be uncomfortable and they itch," Adeline exclaimed._

_Athos sighed, knowing he somehow had to break through the child's stubborn trait and soon. "Adeline, there are things in life that you will not like—dresses being one of them—and sometimes you just have to accept the fact they are there."_

_"But why?"_

_"It is just a part of life."_

_"But I not wanna wear a dress!" Adeline whined again._

_"I know you don't, but think of it this way: this would be the last time you will ever wear a dress. Your father made a promise to you that if you wear the dress at the coronation, it will be the last time you ever have to wear one."_

_Adeline pondered at this, suddenly remembering the memory that happened only a week ago, but seemed like forever to her that her father made her swear to wear the dress after he swore to her it would be the last dress she ever have to wear. She didn't like the thought of having to wear the dress, but if she wore this one, it would mean it would be the last time she ever wore one. It didn't seem like too much of a bad idea…_

_"I guess…it not hurt…"_

_"Well, good then. Now, go back to votre maman (3) and let her put you in that dress, okay?"_

_"Okay," Adeline said, reluctantly following her mother back to the guest room with the latter mouthing the word 'thank you' to him before turning back around to get ready._

_Athos was ready before the two d'Artagnan women were ready and was waiting for them with his parents downstairs until, finally, they came down in their gowns. Céline wore a simple, elegant burgundy dress and her hair was up and now curly that it made Athos realize why Bertrand loved his wife so much. Meanwhile, Adeline wore a silk emerald gown with a royal purple bodice and cuff-sleeves and the skirt royal purple as well. Her hair was now curly and had a small flower barrette in it. Looking at Adeline's dress, Athos began to wonder how Céline was able to afford a dress made out of silk. Silk was very valuable and expensive, and Athos knew that the money his mentor gave Céline was not enough to buy the silk, so he had a feeling she had gotten a little help. His parents did not seem to notice this, though, as they both praised the way Adeline looked today._

_"Your daughter looks beautiful, Madame d'Artagnan," Elaine said in awe._

_"I most definitely agree, she is like a jewel," the Comte said._

_"Merci, my lord and my lady," Céline said._

_"Let's get going, traffic is going to be crazy before it starts," the Comte said, leading everyone out the door where a carriage was waiting for them._

_They all settled in the carriage and were off to the palace. Once they arrived there, they could see from out of the window that it was already getting crowded with chariots coming in and out of the gates, noble families coming out of the chariots and into the palace._

_"Excuse me, my lord, but do you happen to know what Marie de Medici is like?" Céline asked the Comte as they all stepped out of the carriage. Céline may have seen the king around three years ago before Adeline was born, but she never met King Henry's second wife Marie and was curious to know what she was like._

_"Um, I have never met her, but I have heard rumors," the Comte began. And most of those rumors were not very kind towards Lady Marie. "They say she is…okay, but she can also be jealous, especially of the king's mistress. The two of them do not get along, in a matter of speaking. Everyday, the two of them would go at it until His Majesty would come up and stop the fight."_

_"Maman, what is a mistress?"_

_"Oh, um…" Céline began, feeling her cheeks turn red with embarrassment, "I'll tell you when you are older." She did not think it was a good idea to tell a toddler what a mistress was._

_Adeline pouted, obviously not liking this answer._

_"Ah, Céline, there you are!" came a voice that Athos was too familiar with and did not like. The group turned around, and not to the least of Athos' surprise, the Duke of Buckingham and his son were behind them._

_As usual, the Duke and his son wore something of silk, each wearing black, and the Duke was wearing a charming smile on his face that Athos wished he could just swipe it off with his own sword, but he kept his anger at bay. If Adeline looked grave before, then she looked even graver now with the Duke in her presence. Whatever the Duke did or said to her had obviously made the little girl quite tame in his presence, and Athos didn't like it. From what little information he had gotten from a few noble friends of his, the Duke was interested in more than just reconciling his relationship with his ex-fiancée. Céline may not be able to see it now, but Athos saw right through the Duke and was going to keep a good eye on him._

_"My Lord Buckingham, it is good to see you this morning," Céline said to him with a smile, "and it is good to see you too, George."_

_"Morning, Madame d'Artagnan."_

_"It is so lovely to see you all," the Duke said, referring to the Comte and his family. "Your wife looks very beautiful, my lord, especially Madame d'Artagnan and young Adeline." He then turned his attention to Adeline who went up to her mom, clinging to her skirts once he did. The Duke frowned at this._

_"Adeline, why don't you come here and show me what you look like in that dress?"_

_Adeline hid her face in her mother's skirts as her response, making the Duke glare at her, the look not going unnoticed by Athos._

_"Adeline, come on, sweetie, show our friend here how beautiful you look today," Céline said, trying to coax her daughter into letting her go. When Adeline shook her head no, she tried again. "Adeline, come on, sweetie, don't be shy, think of how brave your father would be."_

_This seemed to work because Adeline finally let go of her mother and turned back toward the Duke. She kept her head down for a few seconds before lifting her head up and looking at the Duke in the eyes. It scared her to even look at this man in the eye because she could see the evil glint in them that her mother could not, and it scared her, but if her father could face evil, then she could too, so she managed to look at this evil man in the eye._

_The Duke lifted her chin up a little higher and gently moved her face to the side where he could see the barrette in her hair. "Combien belle! She looks more like her mother with that dress on. George picked very well, I must admit."_

_George was a little surprised to hear those words come out of his own father's mouth, though he did feel a little insulted that his own father thought of him as incompetent when it comes to fashion. But he supposed he should feel grateful that his father praised his taste, but still, he felt a little insulted._

_When Adeline did not say anything, Céline tried to urge her daughter. "Adeline, what do you say?"_

_"Thank you…my lord," Adeline said._

_"You are most welcome, Mamoiselle d'Artagnan," the Duke said with a satisfying smile before turning his attention to the Comte, but glancing at Céline. "Would you allow me to accompany you and keep you and the lady company during and after the coronation?"_

_"That won't be necessary," Athos spoke up, making everybody look at him in surprise._

_"Oh, and why not?" the Duke asked, giving him a warning look. Normally, people would back down from that look, but not Athos, he just stood his ground._

_"Because we have each other's company, and I believe we are perfectly capable of entertaining ourselves without you," Athos snapped out, not being able to control his need to insult the vile man._

_"Armand (4)__, you do not speak to a noble that way!" the Comte said. "Apologize at once!"_

_"I am sorry for my rudeness, my lord, it won't happen again," Athos gritted out through his teeth, wishing he would just hit that smirk off of the man's face._

_"I see that the famous Bertrand d'Artagnan has rubbed off on you, young one, perhaps you should find a better mentor who will teach you about how to respect your elders," the Duke said, making Athos clench his fists. He wished to say something, but his mother beat him to it._

_"Monsieur d'Artagnan is a highly respected man in Paris, Lord Buckingham, there is no need for Armand to find a different mentor," Elaine said, her tone composed, but seething inside._

_Céline could sense the tension that was going on, and she could see the Comte could feel it too. She gave the Comte a pleading look to lighten the situation, and the Comte responded to it with a nod, agreeing._

_"Lord Buckingham, please forgive my family, things have been very stressful with the preparations for the coronations, you must understand that," he said._

_"They are forgiven," the Duke said. "Besides, it is understandable."_

_Céline felt herself breathe a sigh of relief as she felt the tension lessen in the air, but she knew that it was still there._

_"You are more than welcomed to accompany us, my lord," the Comte said._

_"Thank you."_

_Athos groaned inwardly. Why is it that his father and his mentor's wife were so blind by the Duke's false charms?_

_The Comte led his and the d'Artagnan family inside the palace with the Duke and George beside the d'Artagnans. The Duke offered his arm to Madame d'Artagnan, who gladly took it, before they headed inside and as they did, Athos could see the Duke giving him, Adeline, and his mother a warning glance. Athos knew that this was going to be a long day…_

* * *

><p><em>The coronation of Marie de Medici went along smoothly and throughout the rest of the after party, Athos remained by his parents' side who remained by the now Queen of France's side. For speaking out of turn to the Duke of Buckingham, the Comte did not permit Athos to stay by the d'Artagnans' side as a punishment, but Athos kept his eye out on Adeline and Céline while at his parents' side, especially on the Duke of Buckingham and George and the way they interacted with the two females. To say the least, he did not like it one bit.<em>

_The Duke would often try to get his son to take Adeline off somewhere else, so he could have time to Céline himself—at least time enough to try and seduce her. It was obvious to Athos that the Duke was trying to seduce Céline with the way he kept on giving her that charming smile and leaning into her too close for comfort, but the latter seemed a bit oblivious to it, always looking around as if looking for something or someone._

_As for Adeline, Athos saw that she did not like the idea of having to be around with George and had clung to her mother's skirts in protest when the Duke tried to get them to leave together the first time, and only the reassuring words of her mother would allow her to let go and go with him. As the hours of the after party went by, Athos began to notice that Adeline began to look more and more disheartened, and it worried him. He thought it was because she had to be with George, but it turned out it was about something else._

_Athos and his mother were still by the Queen's side, talking to her about Athos' potential of being a musketeer. While his father disapproved of him wanting to be a musketeer, his mother secretly supported him, telling the Queen of his desire to be like the great Bertrand d'Artagnan. His father was away talking to a few noble friends of his, so it was safe to speak of Athos' desire to be a musketeer. It was while they were talking, though, that Adeline suddenly approached them, embracing Athos around the legs._

_Some of the people around them gasped and whispered disapprovals of the little girl who dared not to bow to their new queen, but a glare from Athos immediately shut them up. Queen Marie looked slightly livid at someone not bowing to her, but she then realized that the child looked too young to understand proper etiquette, so she let it go, for now._

_"And who is this lovely young lady here?" Queen Marie asked._

_"Your Majesty, this is young Adeline d'Artagnan, the daughter of Bertrand and Céline d'Artagnan," Elaine introduced._

_"Really? It is nice to see her, but I would very much like to meet her…"_

_"Of course, Your Majesty," Elaine said before turning to Adeline. "Adeline, there is someone special who would very much like to meet you. Why don't you come out and say hello to her?" She coaxed her to release her son's legs and when Adeline turned towards the queen, they could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. She tried to wipe them away, though, as she greeted the queen._

_"It be a p-pleasure to meet you, Your-Your Majesty," she said with a curtsy before reaching up with her hand to wipe a tear from her face again._

_"And the same is to you, juene un, but tell me why are you crying? It is a marvelous day today, you have yourself a new queen," Queen Marie said._

_"I just miss my papa," Adeline lied as she rubbed her red eyes._

_"Oh, well, do not worry, your père is doing a good deed for France by protecting its king."_

_This did not make Adeline feel any better and tears kept falling down her eyes, but she only nodded. Elaine saw the child's distress and nodded to her son, allowing him to be dismissed for a little bit. Athos took the hint and picked up Adeline, excusing himself from the queen for a moment, and walked somewhere more private._

_"I not like that man," Adeline whispered to Athos, pointing to the Duke, "he be a big meanie, he try to take my maman away from my papa, and he say mean things to me to keep me quiet."_

_Athos knew he shouldn't feel surprised, but he found himself feeling disgust towards the Duke. What kind of man would lay a hand on a toddler and threaten her?_

_"Athos, there be sometwing wrong wit' my papa," Adeline suddenly claimed, surprising Athos._

_"Adeline, your father is with King Henry right now, there is nothing wrong with him," he said, trying to reassure the child._

_"No! There be sometwing wrong wit' my papa, I be feelin' it."_

_Concerned, Athos asked, "How do you know?"_

_Adeline pointed to her chest, indicating that she could feel it in her heart. "Athos, my tummy and head hurts, I want my papa to come home," she said, burying her face into his chest._

_Athos put a comforting hand on Adeline's back and rubbed circles there, whispering some reassurance in her ear. It was then that the bonding moment between them was interrupted by George who had been looking for Adeline by orders from his father._

_"Father, I found her," he said, speaking to someone from behind him._

_Athos glared at George, starting to hate him as much as he hated his father, though he had to say he hated the boy's father more. Speaking of the devil, the Duke came through the crowd, trying to look as charming as possible as he gave Adeline a friendly smile, but giving Athos an unfriendly look._

_"Ah, there you are! Your mother has been looking for you, come with me," he said as he reached out his hand towards her._

_"No! I not go wit' you, I stay here," Adeline shouted, burying her face into Athos' chest again and holding onto him tightly. She was not willing to go with the Duke anywhere._

_The Duke dropped his charming act and gave Adeline a livid look. "You will come with me, young lady, or I'll have your mother punish you," he said._

_"I do not think you have the right to do such a thing, my lord," Athos said. "You are not her family, so you do not tell her what to do. **I** will take the child to her mother." He made to leave, but the Duke stopped him._

_"I will make sure your father severely punishes you for this," he said._

_"Go ahead, at least I will take it like a real man should," Athos said before finally leaving to look for Adeline's mother. He found Adeline's mother, who seemed to be looking around for someone, and her eyes filled with relief when she spotted the two of them. Her expression changed into concern, though, when she saw her daughter's tear-stained face._

_"Adeline, whatever is the matter?" she asked her daughter once Athos handed her in her arms._

_"Papa…"_

_"Papa? What about papa?"_

_"I think there be sometwing wrong," Adeline replied. "Can we go see papa, maman? I wanna see him…"_

_"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart, but your father is with King Henry right now, we can't go see him," Céline said, feeling her heart break as she saw more tears form in her daughter's eyes. "Don't worry, I am sure he is fine."_

_It was then that there came a sudden noise inside the court room—a loud **bang**, and people all looked to the double doors where they could see a musketeer, who looked hot and sweaty and dirty as if he had been running for a long time, coming up to Queen Marie, who was now sitting on her throne. He dropped down to his knees in front of her, breathing heavily, and Queen Marie sat up, looking positively livid. Athos suddenly had a gut feeling something was terribly wrong._

_"What is this? What reason do you have to interrupt my coronation party? Speak quickly!" Queen Marie said as she stood up._

_The musketeer tried to catch his breath a few minutes before finally speaking up, "The king…he has…he has been…stabbed…"_

_Everybody in the court room suddenly went quiet, though there were a few gasps from some of the noble ladies. The whole court room had a deadly silence in the air as many thoughts swarmed through everyone's heads, fearing for their king's life. It was Queen Marie who broke the deadly silence._

_"Is he still alive?"_

_While everybody seemed very frightened at the thought of losing their king, Queen Marie seemed to keep her composure, staying calm and having a glint of what looked like pleasure in her eyes. No one could be certain, though._

_"The last I saw, he was barely alive, Your Majesty," the musketeer responded through gasps of breath. "He is being carried back here to the palace…"_

_"Have your comrades take my husband to his chambers and go fetch his physician after that," the Queen commanded._

_"Yes, Your Majesty," the musketeer said, bowing before getting up and running off again._

_The queen then turned her attention to one of her ladies in waiting, telling her to fetch Prince Louis before turning her attention back to the crowd. "Everyone, please remain calm. Stay here, I have to check on my husband now."_

_Queen Marie sounded very aloof as she said this, and it started to make people wonder if she was even worried about her husband. It was very well known that the marriage between King Henry and Lady Marie was not so good, but was she really that heartless?_

_She walked out of the court room very quickly, leaving all her guests in there. It was quiet for a few minutes after she left before people slowly started to talk, whispering to each other about the possible death of their beloved king. Céline could hear her heart hammering in her chest, suddenly feeling very scared and worried for both her husband and brother. If they were fine and the king was coming to the palace, then most likely her husband and brother were coming as well, but she just had to be sure._

_"Athos, please get your father and have him take me to the gate," she said. "I need to see my husband. I need to know if he is okay."_

_Athos nodded before going to find his parents, who were with the Duke of Buckingham and George, and told them about Céline's situation. Immediately, his father was right on it. He went up to the d'Artagnan women and lead them out of the court room and out of the palace, not noticing that his family and the Duke and his son were following them._

_"Maman, what be wrong with the king?" Adeline asked._

_"He is hurt, but do not fret, ma chérie, he will be fine," Céline said._

_"What about papa?"_

_"I'm not sure…" Céline said this once they reached the gate._

_The king was already there by the time they arrived, and they could see the wound on his chest and the blood on his shirt. It frightened Céline that her daughter was exposed to such a thing, so she tried to keep her eyes away from the scene, but Adeline refused to let her mother turn her away from the scene. She wanted to see if her father was here and okay._

_"No! I wanna see papa!" Adeline cried, trying to wiggle out from her mother's grasp, so she could find him._

_"Adeline, listen to me," Céline said sternly, "I need you to stay calm, okay? The king is very hurt right now, so he cannot be bothered, do you understand?"_

_Adeline's bottom lip trembled, her eyes glistening with tears, but she gave her mother a nod, telling her that she understood._

_The Comte was the first one to approach the group, but cautiously, and he saw how heavily the king was bleeding. It was not the first time that he has seen someone bleed to death (he's seen his own blood, for goodness sake), but he still felt the gut-wrenching feeling in his stomach as he saw it was his king that was bleeding to death. Queen Marie was nowhere in sight, but the musketeer who was in the court room not too long ago was ordering his comrades to take the king to his quarters. One musketeer remained behind when he noticed the other group that didn't belong, and he approached them, making eye contact with Céline d'Artagnan._

_"Madame d'Artagnan?"_

_Immediately recognizing him as one of her husband's friend, she asked, "Oh, François, where is my husband and brother? Are they alright?"_

_The musketeer named François gave Céline a sympathetic look that did not go unnoticed by anyone. "Damien d'Artagnan, your brother, is fine, but your husband got stabbed while trying to protect the king," he said, making Céline's heart stop. "I do not know how badly wounded he was, but the last I saw him, his brother was carrying him into a nearby tavern in the Rue de la Ferronnerie where the king was stabbed."_

_"What tavern? What is the name of it? Please tell me, François, I need to know where my husband is at," Céline begged him._

_"The tavern is called Chatelêt."_

_"Merci, François." Céline thanked him before turning back to the Comte. "Please, my lord, I need to see my husband."_

_The Comte nodded before running to get his carriage. The others followed him with Adeline still in her mother's arms._

_"Maman, what be wrong with papa? Is he hurt? Will he be okay?"_

_"Adeline, please not now!"_

_Adeline shut her mouth after that, tears forming in her eyes as she wondered what it was that she did to make her mother upset with her. All she wanted to know is if her father was okay or not. Céline, meanwhile, was frantic. Her husband had bled before with the countless duels he had been in, but mostly he only got scratches, but Bertrand got stabbed this time, and it made Céline fear for his life. She then thought about her daughter and what would happen if she ever saw her father in such a condition. It would traumatize the poor child, that's for sure._

_"Adeline," Céline said as she set her child down once they reached the Comte's carriage, "you are going to have to stay here with Lord Buckingham, I'm afraid you cannot come…"_

_At this, Adeline began to protest. "No! I wanna go wit' you, maman, I wanna see papa! Please let me see papa!"_

_"Adeline, please, do not argue with me!"_

_"No!"_

_"Adeline, do not worry, I will take care of you," the Duke said as he tried to pull the child away from her mother. Adeline continued to resist._

_"No, I wanna go see papa! Please, maman, lemme see him," she begged._

_Céline was ready to yell at her daughter when Athos came up and put a hand on her shoulder._

_"Madame d'Artagnan, I would beg you not to leave Adeline here with the Duke," he said. "She has as much right to see her father just as much right you have to see your husband."_

_"Oh, to hell with it," Céline muttered under her breath. "Fine, you can come with us." She said this to her daughter, making Adeline beam with relief. She made to get into the carriage when the Duke stopped her._

_"My lady, shall I follow you to the tavern?"_

_"If that is your desire, but please, my lord, I must make haste to my husband."_

_"Of course," the Duke said, releasing her arm. "I will follow."_

_The group was then finally off to the Chatelêt. The whole ride to the tavern was so tense that, even for someone who was so young, Adeline could feel it, and it was making her worry about her father even more. When they finally spotted the tavern, the Comte asked his coach rider to stop, and the carriage came to a halt. Céline was the first one out and approached the front door, and she tried to turn the knob, but she found it locked. Fear instantly went into Céline's heart and she began to bang on the door. It was not lady-like, but all Céline cared about was getting to her husband._

_"Hold on!" came a voice at the other side of the door._

_Immediately, Céline stopped banging on the door, her heart filled with hope now, and she thanked the Lord for having someone in there. There was the sound of a click and the door opened to reveal an irritated look on an old woman._

_"We are closed, madame, you have to come another day."_

_"I know, madame, that is not the reason why I am here, I want to know if there are two musketeers that are here. Are there any here?" Céline asked._

_"Who's asking?"_

_"I am the wife of one of the musketeers," Céline said. She then pointed to the group behind her when she saw the woman was looking at the people behind her. "The man behind me is the Comte de la Fère and his family and my daughter are with me. We all got a message from one of my husband's comrades, saying he was stabbed."_

_"Oh," the woman said, her irritated look changing to a sympathetic one, as she opened the door a little wider, "the wounded musketeer spoke of you and a daughter of his, said he wanted to see you."_

_"May we see him?"_

_"Of course, come in."_

_"Merci, madame," Céline said before turning to the others and signaling them to come in._

_"How is my husband?" she asked the woman once she and the others were inside._

_"I am afraid not so good," the woman responded, leading the group up the stairs. "He got stabbed in his main artery in his shoulder and has lost a lot of blood, and if the doctor does not get here soon…"_

_She left that sentence hanging, and Céline nearly felt her heart stop right there. **If** the doctor did not get here soon? The thought of that just terrified Céline, it made her sick to her stomach. It was then that a man in a blue tunic with blood on it suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs, and Céline immediately recognized him as her brother-in-law._

_"Damien…"_

_She ran up the stairs to him and gave him a hug, feeling relief to see her brother unscratched and unharmed._

_"How is my husband? What happened?" Céline asked once she finally let him go._

_Damien, who appeared to be sweating and shaking, gave her the news of the state her husband was in. "Bertrand is not too good, he is losing blood real fast, and I nor do the owners of the tavern know how to stop it."_

_"Let me see him," Céline demanded._

_Damien nodded, but before he could even take his sister to his brother, he felt something or someone tugging at his trousers. It was Adeline, of course._

_"Oncle Damien, will papa be alright?"_

_"He will be fine, ma chérie," Damien lied. The truth was that he was not even sure if his brother **was** going to be okay, he just had to have hope, though. "Come, he wants to see you both."_

_He then led the two females to the room where Bertrand was staying in. When they reached the room, Céline and Adeline were greeted by a frightening sight: Bertrand was lying there on the bed, his skin very pale that it looked ashen, and was shaking violently, but the thing that was frightening the most to the two females was the blood. There was a lot of blood everywhere, starting from the left shoulder from where the wound was. It was flowing down his left arm and left side of his torso, staining his whole left side of his body, but also the bed. There was a man there with him, whom Céline assumed was the tavern owner and the woman's husband, and he was trying to stop the blood from flowing by pressing a white cloth on the wound, but blood just kept on flowing out._

_"Bertrand, mon amour!"_

_"Papa!"_

_The d'Artagnan women ran to the bed, both going to the man's each side._

_"Papa, what happen? Why you be hurt?" Adeline asked. Tears were brimming in her eyes as she feared for the worst of what was to come to her father as she saw him on the bed, bleeding to death. She had never seen her father in such a state where he seemed so vulnerable. He was normally very strong, and Adeline had always thought her father to be invincible, but to see her father like this where he was bleeding and shaking uncontrollably made her think that maybe he was not as invincible as she thought he was. It scared her._

_"Do not worry, Adeline, I am fine," Bertrand responded to his daughter's question, obviously lying and the look on his face showed it._

_"No, you not be fine, papa, you be bleeding."_

_Bertrand laughed before going into a fit of coughing. "You will definitely become an intelligent young lady, my little wildflower," he said once he was done. A look of pain came across his face._

_"Mon amour, please save your strength," Céline begged her husband. "The doctor should be here soon, just hold on for a little while longer."_

_"I am not sure…if I can, amour…"_

_"Don't talk like that, Bertrand!" Céline snapped, a fear striking in her when he said that._

_She did not want to think of that, she needed to have hope that her love was going to make it, but it seemed as if he was on the brink of giving up, and it scared her. She would not allow Bertrand to give up, though, she had to make sure that he was going to make it._

_"You will make it!"_

_"No, mon amour…"_

_Céline looked into her husband's eyes, and what she saw brought tears to her eyes. She tried desperately to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall, for the sake of Adeline, but the knowledge that passed between the lovers, that this was the last time they would ever see other until the other's demise came, made it so much harder for her to hold them back._

_"Bertrand, please don't leave me, I do not know what I would do without you…"_

_With a shaking hand, Bertrand lifted it up and placed it on the left side of Céline's face, the latter putting her hand over his. She closed her eyes, basking in his touch, knowing it would be forever before she would feel his touch again. She opened her eyes again and a sad smile came across her face, tears finally streaming down it._

_"I don't want to say goodbye, my love."_

_"Then don't, ma belle," Bertrand said, "it would alleviate the pain a little bit." He gave her a small smile before turning his attention to the tavern owner. "Monsieur, thank you for all you've done, but I think this is all that can be done."_

_The owner, seeming to understand Bertrand's purpose, asked before being interrupted, "Shall I go fetch a—"_

_"No, I won't have time for that, I just want to spend time with my family, alone, please?"_

_The owner nodded before bidding his wife and Athos, who came up with the d'Artagnans to see how his mentor was doing, to come down the stairs to give the family some privacy. Athos was reluctant to leave his mentor's side until the owner gave him a nudge towards the door, and he started to leave._

_"Athos?"_

_"Yes, Monsieur d'Artagnan?" Athos turned back to his mentor._

_"I thank your family…for—for taking care of my family."_

_Athos nodded as his response to his gratitude before following the owner out of the room, the door being closed behind him._

_"Bertrand, please, can you hold on a little bit more? I am sure the doctor—" Damien began._

_"Damien, you know I can't," Bertrand interrupted. "The damage has already been done, it is my time."_

_"No! Do not talk like that, papa!" Adeline cried, fearing of losing her father. "You be strong. Please, papa, I not want you to go…"_

_Adeline may have been only three years old, but she was not naïve, she knew all about the life and death concept. She heard the bishop at her local church talk about it all the time. When she heard her father say "it is my time," she knew what he was talking about, she heard the bishop say it once when she asked him why people died. Adeline thought that death was only for the old and sickly and not for the strong, such as her father, so it scared her of seeing her father about to die. Her father was invincible, he just had to be!_

_"Adeline, listen," Bertrand began, "I may not be physically here, but I will always be here…"_

_"How?"_

_"In here," Bertrand said, pointing at Adeline's chest where her heart was. "My spirit is in you, my darling, but I will also be up there watching you and be right there with you, so you won't ever be lonely. You will become a fine woman, my little wildflower, and you have a great purpose ahead of you and do not let any of those scumbags tell you differently."_

_Adeline nodded before wiping her tears away with the back of her hands._

_Bertrand then was fumbling with something around his neck, and Damien, seeing what he was trying to do, tried to help him. Bertrand once told him that he would give his daughter his most prized possession if anything happened to him. Grabbing a hold of the chain of the necklace that was around Bertrand's neck, he unclasped the clasp and took it off of his brother's neck._

_"This," Bertrand said to his daughter as Damien handed the necklace to her, "is the musketeer symbol." Adeline took the necklace and looked at it, seeing the silver four star-line like pendant with the fleur-di-lis on each end (5). "Each end represents the things that we musketeers value: courage, honor, duty, loyalty, bravery, integrity, strength, and goodness," he pointed at each end of the star lines as he said this, "but the one thing that matters most to us is love." He pointed to the red jewel in the middle of the pendant._

_"You may have all the values of a musketeer, but it is the love for your friends, family, and country that makes you a musketeer. I learned this from your mother."_

_Bertrand looked over to his other side and gave his wife an affectionate smile, and Céline returned it with a small one. Bertrand then turned his attention back to his daughter._

_"Do not forget, Adeline," he said, "it is love that makes us a musketeer."_

_Adeline nodded before crying out, "Papa, please don't go!" She lunged at him, holding him tightly around the waist, crying into his torso._

_"I am not leaving, ma chérie, I will still be here with you, and your mother and oncle will be here with you too."_

_When Adeline continued to sob on her father's torso, Bertrand turned to his brother and wife. "Please take care of them," he said to Damien._

_"I will, dear brother," Damien said, finally breaking down as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Don't you forget about visiting us."_

_Bertrand smiled weakly before turning his attention to his wife. Céline gave her husband a sad smile and placed her hand over his, knowing it would be the last time she would feel his warm touch. Nothing was said between husband and wife, there was no need to because they already knew what the other was thinking. Bertrand gave Céline a comforting smile, and she tried to return it back, but her despair of losing her husband was too much, so she just kissed him one last time before they could say goodbye, and it was with this last kiss that Bertrand breathed out his last breath._

_Céline cried at the loss of her love, turning to Damien and embraced him around the waist, burying her face into his shirt where she cried. Damien held her, not bothering to say any comforting words to her because there was nothing to say, he had lost someone as well._

_Adeline, who noticed her father was no longer moving, looked up to see him dead, though being young, she thought that he was sleeping._

_"Papa?"_

_Céline and Damien looked up in time to see Adeline staring at her father in confusion, and they felt such pity for the little girl because they knew that she did not know she just lost her father._

_"Papa, why you be sleeping? Wake up," Adeline continued, shaking her father._

_"Adeline…"_

_"Maman, why papa be sleeping?"_

_"Adeline, your father is not sleeping," Céline responded, wiping the tears away. It was becoming harder and harder to say this. "Your father is…he is—is dead." She then broke out into sobs again while Adeline stared at her in disbelief._

_"No," she said, shaking her head. "Why you lie, maman? He not be dead…"_

_She didn't want to believe it. She wanted to refuse the fact that her father was dead, but it was hard to cover the evidence when she saw him lying so still and pale on the bed._

_"No! Papa, come back! Please come back!" Adeline cried, shaking him even harder as if was the only way for him to come back._

_"Sweetie," Céline began, her heart breaking at the sight of her daughter. She tried to reach out to her, but Adeline responded by shouting and grabbing a hold of her father, embracing his dead body._

_"No! I want my papa," she cried. "Papa, please come back!"_

_Damien then decided to handle this. Getting up, he went over to Adeline and gently pried her away from her father, which she responded by letting go of her father and turning to him, embracing him._

_"Papa…" She began to sob._

_"Shh, I know, ma chérie, I know," Damien whispered, holding her in his arms and just letting her cry._

_He wished he could do something to make his niece feel better, but a mortal man did not have the power to bring life back, so he just held Adeline, knowing that was the only way to make her feel better. It was painful, but it was the best he could do for his niece._

* * *

><p><em>There was a dead silence in the room, except for the sound of the bells of the Notre Dame ringing. Word had reached the d'Artagnan family that their beloved King Henry was dead, and now the two grownups were sitting in the room, mourning over two great men they lost while young Adeline slept in her mother's arms. Céline felt tears coming down her cheeks and tried to hold them back, so she could remain strong for her daughter, but her heart was torn in two over the loss of her husband that the tears eventually fell down her cheeks. Damien was on the other side of the room in a chair, slouching with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Céline knew that, though Damien looked as if he was calm, he was really weeping. She continued to hum a lullaby to her daughter so she could stay asleep until there was a knock on the door.<em>

_Damien sniffled before whipping his tears away, taking a deep breath then exhaling so that he remained calm, cool, and collected to whoever it was on the other side of the door. "Come in," he said, his voice betraying his emotion just a little bit._

_The door opened and the owner's wife stepped in with a man Damien immediately recognized as the Duke of Buckingham, and he became tense._

_"Monsieur, madame, a man says he wished to see you," the owner's wife said. "He also says he knows you well…"_

_She looked to Damien and asked him with her eyes if she should let the man in. What Damien really wanted to say was no since his conscious was telling him that Lord Buckingham was going to cause trouble, but he already permitted him to come in with a nod of his head._

_"Please leave us," Damien told the owner's wife._

_With a nod and curtsey, the owner's wife bid Damien's wishes, closing the door behind him._

_"I tried to follow you, but Lady Marie called on me before I could leave, but I came here as soon as I heard," the Duke said, feigning a sympathetic look to the family. Damien saw right through him, though, so he didn't believe the Duke's sympathy. "I am very sorry for your loss. What happened?"_

_"He was stabbed while trying to protect the king," Damien replied, knowing his sister would not be able to tell the Duke what happened to Bertrand._

_"A courageous act, but it was in vain—the king died an hour ago."_

_Damien bristled, feeling his fists clench at that saying, but he tried to be courteous for the sake of Céline and Adeline. "At least he died trying. What is it that you want, my Lord Buckingham?" he asked._

_"I came to offer my condolences and also see how Céline and young Adeline were doing."_

_The Duke went towards the woman, and Damien felt himself tense as he did, not missing the affectionate gaze the Duke was giving Céline._

_"My lady, how do you and your daughter fare?" the Duke asked her, crouching down in front of her._

_"I would be lying if I said we are alright," Céline responded. "I just lost my husband, and I do not know what I am going to do without him. Adeline was so close to her father and I loved my husband so much, it is going to be hard for the both of us to move on from this."_

_"Perhaps you won't have to be alone…" the Duke whispered to her._

_Céline looked at him in confusion, but then she saw the look in his eyes once she looked into them. She recognized that look from anywhere._

_"Lord Buckingham, please don't…"_

_"Come with me, Céline," the Duke interrupted. "Come with me back to London and be my wife. I will give you everything you want just to make you happy, and I'll make sure that little Adeline is well taken care of and becomes a lady, just like her mother. You could be a mother to my son…"_

_Damien could not hear what was being said because the Duke was talking in a low tone, but he could tell whatever he was saying was upsetting his sister. There were tears falling down her cheeks and he could hear her begging him to stop and saying she couldn't, so he stepped in._

_"That is enough!" he said. "Whatever it is you are offering her, the answer is no. We are in mourning now, so I am gonna have to ask you to leave."_

_The Duke dropped his charming act and glared at Damien. "I believe that I wasn't talking to you, monsieur, I was talking to the lady," he said._

_"No, but I am talking to you, **monsieur**," Damien said. "As Céline and Adeline's new appointed guardian, I have the right of say in what they do, and right now I am saying that Céline will not take your offer. Leave now or else I will have to fight you to leave."_

_Céline stared in astonishment at her brother, despite her tears. It surprised her that he was showing some back bone by standing up to the Duke like that. Normally, Damien was the quiet one—the reasonable one—in the family. She was grateful for him doing that, though, the Duke's words had tormented her soul and made her only think about her husband even more. She could imagine her husband feeling betrayed if she said yes to his offer._

_"You fight me? Ha! I could probably beat you in less than five minutes," the Duke said haughtily, indicating to Damien's built._

_"Do not underestimate me, monsieur, I may not look strong, but looks can be deceiving. You also must remember that I had Bertrand d'Artagnan as my brother, so I would not be so arrogant if I were you," Damien said. "Now, do this family a favor by getting out and leaving us alone. I do not want to see or hear you ever coming near my family again, do you understand me?"_

_If looks could kill, Damien would drop dead on the floor. The Duke was giving Damien such a cold, deadly look that most people would cower away from it, but not Damien. He stood his ground, not once backing down, until finally it was the Duke who backed down._

_"You will regret this," he snapped out._

_He then walked out and slammed the door shut. Céline flinched at the sound of the slam, and it was a few minutes before her whole body shook with sobs and began crying again, bringing her sleeping daughter close to her, almost as if she was going to lose her as well. Her daughter then began to stir from her sleep._

_"Maman…"_

_"Yes, ma chérie?"_

_"Is papa really gone?"_

_"I am afraid so, my darling."_

_"I miss papa."_

_"We all miss him."_

_And from that day on, Céline swore she would protect her family if it was the last thing she do. She just knew that her daughter would try to become a musketeer, and she would not bear it if she lost her daughter as well._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Finally! It's over and done with! Now I just gotta finish the next first chapter of this story and then I'll type it and update as soon as I can.**

**(1) Got this line from Aramis in the 2011 version ;D, found that line so hilarious, especially when he was on a mission and he was having fun between that lol!**

**(2) I was reminded that Athos actually lived in the country and I now know he didn't live in the city, so I will be making a change probably later in the next few chapters, not completely, though, you'll just have to see what I mean by that ;).**

**(3) your mommy**

**(4) This is Athos' real and first name. The historical figure of Athos is named Armand de Sillègue d'Athos d'Autevielle. In my story, this is what he is known as to most people, and very few people know him as just Athos.**

**(5) I kinda noticed that Porthos, Aramis, Athos, and D'Artagnan had a symbol like this on their jacket and I thought it had some kind of significance to it.**


	4. Fifteen Years Later

**A/N: Hello, readers, I'm here with the (official) first chapter that you've all been waiting for. Sorry if the prologue seemed so long and unnecessary, but it's finally here. No interaction between Buckingham and Adeline yet, but you will see it sometime in the near future.**

**Summary: Adeline has always been considered a very spirited woman, even as a little girl, and has dreams of becoming a musketeer like her father, but as a woman, of course, she cannot be one. She has been in the care of both her mother and uncle ever since her father died when she was only three and has been trained by her uncle to be the best swordswoman there ever was in history, but with Adeline 19 and no husband and the possibility of her uncle dying and losing the farm, she is to wed Gérard Leroy, her arch nemesis. But when the Comte de Rochefort comes in, invades her home, and kills her best friend, Henri, Adeline has sworn vengeance on him. Going to Paris to search for Rochefort, she ends up running into the three legendary musketeers known as The Inseparables and they all discover a plot to overthrow the King of France. Teaming up with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, Adeline tries to stop the evil, treacherous Milady de Winter and her employer from engulfing the whole world into war and destroying the very nation of France. Will Adeline and the three legendary musketeers be able to stop them in time?**

**Rated: M, just to be safe for about now for violence, language, sexual references, nudity, and sex scenes.**

**Timeline: 17th century. 1610 and 1628.**

**I do not own any of the characters from Summit Entertainment or Disney, except for Adeline and a few others I made in this story, Paul Anderson and Stephen Herek owns the rest.**

**Enjoy.**

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><p><strong><em>C<em>****_h_****_a_****_p_****_t_****_e_****_r_****_ One: _****_Fifteen Years Later_**

If Damien knew any better that his niece would cause trouble even more by the time she got older, then he wouldn't have started teaching her on how to fence, but Adeline was too much of a free spirit that she would have learned it from somebody else. He was beginning to regret teaching her, though, as he saw Adeline fighting _again_ with Gérard. This wouldn't be the first time Damien had to break up the fight and certainly not the last, but it still was wearisome that he had to break up the fights between Adeline and the youngest Leroy boy all the time.

"Alright, that is enough! Break it up, you two!" Damien yelled as he got in between them, pushing them apart.

Adeline tried to push past the person who had pulled her away from that sorry-excuse of a man, not realizing it was her uncle, ready to punch Gérard again when Damien held her back.

"Enough, Adeline! I think you've done enough damage as it is."

He was right. Despite Gérard being much bigger and taller than his niece, Adeline was very strong for a woman and Gérard was already sporting a bunch of bruises on his face and had blood dripping down his nose and a cut on his lip. Adeline stopped going after Gérard when she realized that it was her uncle who was holding her back.

"Gérard, go home and have one of your servants tend to you," Damien said, turning to the twenty-one year old man. "You are going to need it."

"You will regret this one day, harridan," Gérard spat out to Adeline before he and his friends left.

"In your dreams, you self-centered a—"

"Enough, Adeline, or I will whip you!"

Adeline shut her mouth after that. She knew her uncle would not whip her, he didn't have the heart to do that, but she knew he would find some other form of punishment for her, so she kept quiet. Once Gérard and his boys were out of sight, Damien turned to his niece.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of trouble with that boy?" he said. "Do you even know what he is capable of?"

Adeline gave him an indignant look that reminded Damien too much of his long-dead brother.

As Adeline grew up throughout the years, she started looking less like her mother and more like her father, but she was no less beautiful as her father was no less handsome in his younger years. However, she had her mother's emerald green eyes, and they had a fire in them whenever she was angry. Her hair was dark brown that was long, reaching about to her mid-back, and was now in a braid, as it had been ever since she was seven years of age. Whenever it was down, though, it was untamed and curly. She had a round-shaped face and a short, sharp nose, and she was very short, standing about five feet and three inches tall, a physical trait she received from her father. Her feisty personality has kept most men from ever courting her (at least not with their consent), thank goodness, thought Damien. The only man that was not kept at bay was Gérard Leroy.

When Damien and his now widowed sister with a less cheerful Adeline came back home all those fifteen years ago, Pierre Leroy had approached him with another offer of an arranged marriage between Adeline and Gérard, but Damien refused him again. For some reason, that did not seem to stop Médée from urging her husband and son to keep trying. As both Gérard and Adeline got older, Gérard started making it his life ambition to marry her, and it all started by the time she turned fifteen. Damien could not recall how many times he had gotten an offer from the Leroys and didn't understand why Gérard couldn't just marry the rich merchant's daughter, Antoinette, since she was so smitten with him, but the latter did not want to marry a whore, so Damien could understand why Gérard didn't want to marry her. However, he didn't like the fact that the boy was constantly going after his niece.

Damien tried to keep Adeline from fighting Gérard so much because he was afraid that one day, Gérard might succeed in his life ambition and carry out his threats. Adeline could handle Gérard, but with him as her husband, that was a whole different story, and she didn't seem to understand that as she snapped out a response to her uncle.

"I am not ignorant, Uncle Damien," she said. "You know me, I can handle Gérard fine all by myself."

"Adeline, this isn't about being able to handle him!" Damien yelled. Before he could continue, he went into a fit of coughing, and it took him a few minutes before he finally stopped. Immediately, Adeline's expression turned from anger to concern.

A few weeks ago, Damien had gotten sick, giving Adeline and Céline such a fright, thinking that he was dying, but it turned out to be only the common cold. Damien was feeling better as the days went by, but his illness gave Céline such a fright that she started talking about the possibility of Adeline getting married. Damien did not agree with it at first because he knew that Adeline was not going to be happy with the idea of it, but he eventually figured it was for the best.

"Uncle, are you feeling okay? Did you take your morning medicine, like the doctor told you to?" Adeline asked with concern in her tone.

"Yes, I did, Adeline, don't worry about me, it will be a while before I am fully better," Damien said.

He then looked over his niece and noticed the bruises on her face for the first time. There were very little compared to what Gérard had, but to see evidence that Gérard had touched her made his blood boil. Adeline had a bruise on her jawbone and blood on her lip where a cut was as well as a red handprint on her left cheek.

"Gérard hit you?"

Adeline shook her head no. "No, it was Gascon, he also did the others."

Damien clenched his fists, trying his best to control his temper and go after Gérard and his brother and beat them to a bloody pulp, as he recognized the name of one of Gérard's older brothers. Gascon Leroy was the fourth eldest son of Pierre and Médée Leroy and he had a twin, Michel Leroy, but while Michel was calm and collected, Gascon was wild and ill-tempered. He also had a reputation for being physically abusive towards his own wife, and it was not surprising to Damien to hear he hit Adeline, but it still made him mad as hell.

"I should kill him," he said.

"No, I can handle him on my own, you need to focus on yourself for right now," Adeline responded. "Besides, I don't think maman would appreciate to see both of us coming home with cuts and bruises all over ourselves."

There was a long pause as Damien thought about the older woman he had grown so fond of over the years, feeling his heart warm at the thought of last night's events between the two of them, until Adeline broke the silence.

"You know, it shouldn't matter if she is your sister-in-law or that you are my uncle, you both deserve happiness together."

Damien did not answer right away, feeling his heart being stabbed by those words. "Come, Adeline, let's get you cleaned up before your mother sees you like this," was his response, taking her home.

He didn't want to talk about happiness with Adeline because he knew he was depriving happiness for her by what was he doing.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in England in the Tower of London, in an office-like room, there was a man named George Villiers, also known as the Duke of Buckingham sitting at his desk. He was reading a letter from King Charles of England that was addressed to him about the possibility of a peace treaty with France, and he was requesting Buckingham, as the ambassador (1), to go and discuss the peace treaty with the king of France, Louis XIII. Buckingham was actually looking forward to the day when he would go to France, that way he could show off his new airship to show the power that Great Britain had. He also wanted to show off his dazzling new blue uniform to show how handsome he looked in it, he often liked to gloat to the petty king of France how more dashing, brilliant, and stylish he was compared to him.<p>

After three years of getting the war machine charts, Buckingham had finally built it and from his desk out of the window, he could see his glorious triumph right on the palace docks. It felt like a sweet victory to know that it was he who got to take the charts to England before those pesky three musketeers took them to France, or former musketeers, last he heard. And he was very thankful to his spy and mistress, Milady de Winter, for this sweet victory.

Milady de Winter was a beautiful redheaded woman with blue eyes that he met through a friend, Lord Winter, who mysteriously died after he wrote his last will and testimony and soon, the brother of the now deceased lord became Lord Winter. Buckingham first came to know of Milady's skills when he was at Lord Winter's house for the funeral of the previous lord. He was talking to Milady and Lord Winter, offering his condolences to them when, all of a sudden, Milady started crying and excused herself outside. Buckingham, worried about the woman, followed her outside into the courtyard and when he found her, he was greeted by something that stunned him completely.

Hiding from everyone's view, Milady was fighting an invisible opponent with a sword in her hand, doing flips and turns, spinning in the air before thrusting her sword into her opponent. It wasn't until a few minutes later before Milady finally noticed someone was watching her and stopped, surprised that it was Buckingham who was watching her. In the back of his mind, Buckingham knew what his father would say to him: "She is nothing but a harridan whore, George, you are better off with the more docile women. Besides, women should not be playing with swords, that is a man's sport," but Buckingham just started to become drawn to this woman. Never before had he seen a woman capable of killing, of being dangerous, and it attracted him to her, and it also started to form ideas in his head.

"Lord Buckingham, I am so sorry you saw that," Milady said, "but I normally do this when I am upset."

"There is no need for that, Milady," Buckingham said with a smirk. "I believe I have some use for your talents…"

And that is how Milady became his spy.

Buckingham began to know Milady on a more personal level, learning that she was a very seductive woman when she wanted to be. It was one of those traits that Buckingham loved about Milady, she was able to make even the most powerful and strongest man weak to his knees. Speaking of the said woman, Buckingham suddenly got a surprised visit from her.

"My lord, Milady de Winter is here to see you," a guard announced.

"Send her in."

The guard nodded, leaving to tell the woman to come in and it was a few minutes until Milady entered. Buckingham stood up from his chair and walked around his desk and greeted her with a kiss on the hand.

"Milady de Winter, it is such a pleasant surprise to see you, but tell me, what brings you here?" he asked her.

"I have been hearing that the rumors of a peace treaty with France were now true and I've come to be confirmed," Milady responded.

"Is that all? Well, I must say that your trip here was not a waste of time, the rumors have indeed been proven true," Buckingham said.

He was not sure how Milady heard the news, though, King Charles specifically told all of Parliament and his noble friends to keep it discreet until he announced it. Buckingham shrugged the thought off, figuring that either one of the noble men or one of Parliament's men blabbed it off to his wife who then told everyone else.

"And does His Eminence approve of this peace treaty?"

Ah, the cardinal, Buckingham thought. He did not particularly like Cardinal Richelieu, but he did respect him as a worthy adversary, not like as he did with Athos.

"Last I heard, it was Cardinal Richelieu who was ruling France, not King Louis," Buckingham responded. "I only assumed that it was he who urged the king to sign the peace treaty. Why? Do you suspect the cardinal will go back on his word?"

"Cardinal Richelieu is a very complex man, he says one thing, but then he says another," Milady said. "After all, he did side with the Huguenots for a while before he switched sides, so I wouldn't put it past him to go against his own word."

"So you came to me in permission to go to France in concern for your country?"

"If my lord would permit me?"

Buckingham pondered about the thought for a minute. If England was ever going to go to war with France, it would most likely shake the entire European continent. Although Buckingham was confident that England would have the advantage of winning the war with his new war machine, England could not afford going into another war.

"I permit you," he finally said. "Go to the cardinal and find out what his intentions are with this peace treaty."

"At your service, my lord," Milady said with a curtsy.

Buckingham went back to his desk while Milady left, picking up some paperwork before most of it fell down on the floor. Sighing, he got down on his knees and picked up the paperwork, trying to organize them when he noticed something that was not supposed to be there. Taking out the piece of paper, he saw that it was a letter that was addressed to his father from France. He knew it was addressed to his father because he did not become the Duke of Buckingham until 1614 and this letter was dated back in 1613. Curious to see what was said in the letter, Buckingham opened it and began reading it.

_My dear George,_

_I want to thank you for your condolences for all the things you did to me and my family, and I accept and forgive you for them. I am just thankful the Good Lord has finally made you realize how much hurt it has caused us, even what little time you have left in this world._

_To answer your question about Adeline, you need not worry because she does not remember much of what you did to her, she was only a toddler when that happened, the only thing she can remember is her last moments with her beloved father. Sometimes, I wish Bertrand would be here to see how grown his little girl is, but it comforts me to know that he is up in Paradise, watching over her. You should see her now, she is growing up to be a beautiful girl, and she acts more like her father every day and is starting to look more like him, too. She keeps on begging her uncle to teach her how to fence, and I think he is eventually going to give in._

_I am sorry to hear your son has not forgiven you yet for what you have done to him in the past, I pray he would find it in his heart to forgive you and be there at your deathbed. I am also sorry for the pain Bertrand and I caused you in the past, I know you loved me as much as my deceased husband did, but I fell in love. I am glad you have understood and forgiven us for what happened, but I am still sincerely sorry for what we did. I will pray that God will allow you to pass through the Gates of Heaven, I will pray for both you and your son._

_Sincerely,_

_Céline d'Artagnan_

D'Artagnan? Bertrand and Céline d'Artagnan? That name sounded so familiar to Buckingham, especially this Adeline character, but he couldn't quite picture any faces. It then clicked into his head where he heard the surname from. D'Artagnan was the surname of a famous soldier Bertrand d'Artagnan, and Buckingham could recall the tales he heard in France about the famous musketeer, especially the one where he beat Buckingham's own father at fencing. Buckingham's father had normally excelled at that sport, and he had never felt so much shame in being defeated by the kind of men he hated. Bertrand had a reputation as a fierce warrior, but also one for managing to steal Buckingham's father's ex-fiancée.

Buckingham was only five years of age when his father was about to remarry, but he would never forget the kindness the woman named Céline gave him. Both Bertrand and Céline had a child, a daughter, last Buckingham saw. This Adeline must be the unruly little girl he met all those fifteen years ago, she was just a toddler when he first met her. Thinking at the top of his head, Buckingham realized that this Adeline must be at least eighteen years of age by now. He wondered what she looked like now that she was all grown up…

"My lord?"

Buckingham jumped at the sound of someone calling him by his noble title as they pulled him out of his thoughts, but relaxed when he saw it was just his loyal servant, Nathan, that was present.

"My lord, are you alright?"

"I am fine, Nathan, what is it?"

"His Majesty sent me, he requests an audience with you," Nathan responded.

"Then we must not keep him waiting," Buckingham said as he followed Nathan to King Charles. As he walked with him, though, the back of his mind was still on that little girl named Adeline d'Artagnan.

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><p>Damien could feel himself getting sick to his stomach as he saw the satisfying smile on Pierre Leroy's face. He knew Adeline was going to hate him for this, but there was no other option, he had tried other possible suitors, but their parents would often shake their heads no and turn him away. He should have tried Henri, Adeline's best friend, as a possible suitor because he trusted him with Adeline more than any other man, but Henri was in training to be a priest, so there was no way for Henri and Adeline to get married. His last and only option was the Leroys, and he didn't want to do that, but what other choice did he have? He wanted to ensure the safety of his family if anything was to happen to him, and that was why he was here in Pierre's study room.<p>

"Well, I must say that I am absolutely glad to hear you have finally come along, Monsieur d'Artagnan," he said with that satisfying smile on his face that was making Damien even sicker to his stomach. "My youngest son will absolutely be thrilled to hear of the marriage proposal you offered."

"Are you sure your fifth eldest son, Michel, can't marry her?"

"Michel has a fiancée of his own, Monsieur d'Artagnan, it is Gérard who is the bachelor left in this family. You must not worry, I have the utmost confidence that my son will take good care of your niece."

'_Somehow, I doubt that_,' Damien thought. He knew that if Adeline said or did one wrong thing to Gérard, he would snap and hurt her. This was a decision Damien was not happy with, but it was his only option.

"You know, you did the right thing in coming to me and offering this arranged marriage between Mamoiselle d'Artagnan and my son," Pierre continued. "Who knows what might happen to them if you ever died? They would probably live in a hedgerow."

Damien gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists, holding back whatever he wanted to say or do to Pierre Leroy. He wanted to erase that thought from his mind, but Pierre had implanted it in him and hated him for it. He wanted to tell him to shut his mouth or to punch him, but, instead, he just nodded.

"Margret!"

A maid then stepped in.

"You called for me, sir?"

"Yes, go find my son and send him to me."

"Which son, sir?"

"My youngest, and tell him to come immediately, it is urgent."

Margret curtsied before running out of the study room to fetch Gérard, and it wasn't a few minutes later when the said man stepped in with Margret. He looked quite agitated, but then his expression turned to confusion when he saw Damien there.

"Leave us," Pierre snapped at Margret.

Margret curtsied again then left the room, shutting the door on her way out.

"You wished to speak with me, father?" Gérard asked. The bruises that Adeline gave him a few days ago were still there, but they were becoming faint now.

"Yes, I came to tell you that I am now the proudest father in all of France," Pierre said as he walked towards his son and laid both hands on his shoulder, his face beaming with delight. "This is the day that all my children are now off and married."

Gérard looked between his father and Damien with wide eyes before saying, "You mean that…?"

"Yes, this means that Adeline Josephina Maria d'Artagnan is now to become Adeline Josephina Maria Leroy, your wife," Pierre said.

To say that Gérard looked absolutely and positively happy at this news was an understatement, he looked ecstatic, and the look made Damien look away. It made him feel guilty, knowing that the other person who was about to hear the news as well would have the opposite reaction.

"Thank you, Monsieur d'Artagnan, I am glad you saw things our way," Gérard spoke to Damien. "Adeline will be taken care of and also put in her rightful place."

'_Oh, you can try to put her in her rightful place, but it is not going to happen_,' Damien thought as he pictured his niece fighting off her soon-to-be husband with a smirk in his head. If things got too far out of hand, though, Adeline was going to have to behave.

"Now, I know this may be hard for you, Monsieur d'Artagnan, especially with Adeline as your niece, but rest assured, she will be taken care of here under this household," Pierre said. "The wedding will take place in two weeks and until then, my wife is to give her future daughter-in-law lessons on how to act like a proper lady. You are dismissed."

Damien nodded them goodbye, heading towards the door when Pierre called him again.

"Oh, and, Monsieur d'Artagnan?"

Damien turned back to Pierre and found him giving him a stern look.

"I expect her to be here tomorrow at eleven o'clock in the morning sharp."

Not wishing to say anything anymore, Damien left, but not before hearing Pierre say, "He could use a lesson in manners." Damien clenched his fists, wishing _he_ could teach _him_ a lesson, but he pushed the thought aside as his mind went to Adeline. He just knew that when she heard the news of her marriage to Gérard Leroy, she was not going to be happy.

* * *

><p>Adeline was galloping through the town with her horse Buttercup, running errands for her mother and uncle. She had to go to the smith, who was in the middle of the town, to get both hers and her uncle's swords polished and also to get some potatoes her mother was cooking for dinner. Adeline didn't understand why her mother didn't just get some from the fields, but she supposed it was to save some for the near future, it was becoming harder and harder to get by, after all. Adeline knew she was becoming a burden as the months went by. She would go to Paris and become a musketeer if she could, but she learned long ago that having a woman in the king's musketeer would be impossible. It did not mean she did not dream about becoming one still.<p>

"Afternoon, Maximilien," Adeline greeted the smith.

"Good afternoon, Adeline, how has your mother been lately?" Maximilien AKA Max, the smith, asked.

Max was the only man in the whole province, besides Henri, who did not treat her as if she was some creature with two legs. He was a man in his forties who was wise for his age and, surprisingly, had a mild temper for a Gascon, and he knew how to make the best swords. He was the one who made Adeline's father's sword, after all, when he was only her age.

"Oh, she is well as she can be, still the same thing, always trying to get me to find a husband," Adeline responded.

"Most mothers always worry about their children getting married, that's how they are," Max said with a chuckle. "I remember when I was your age that my mother would always pressure me into getting married until one day, she finally gave up."

"I am sure she was disappointed."

"Oh, yes, very much, but she eventually learned that the only love I have is for swords, with a bit of reluctance, of course."

Adeline laughed.

"Do you need your swords polished today?"

"Both mine and my uncle's sword," Adeline said as she handed them to him.

"Would you like to help me?" Max asked. Normally, Adeline would help Max polish the swords whenever she would visit him, but this time, she shook her head at the offer.

"Not today, I have to go around the corner and get my mother some potatoes, she is trying to be conservative and wants me to get some from the market," she responded.

"It's good to be conservative, especially with the hard times you and your family are going through," Max said. "I am just glad to hear that your uncle is feeling better. This should only take a few minutes," referring to the swords, "they should be ready by the time you get back."

"Alright, thanks, Max," Adeline said.

She turned and walked down a few blocks to the market, passing by peasants, some noble men who gave her lewd looks, some women who would give her nasty looks, and other women who would be kind enough to smile and greet her. Some of the noble women that passed by would sneer at her, but they would refrain from saying something insulting. The last women who last insulted the young Adeline d'Artagnan ended up with a black eye and ever since then, no woman had ever tried to insult her, for fear of their pretty faces being marred by cuts and bruises. Adeline just ignored them, not really caring what all of them thought of her, as she walked toward the potatoes stand.

"Hello, may I have a pack of potatoes, please?" she said to the vendor as she handed him the amount of money for the pack.

"There she is!" came a hostile voice as the vendor handed her the pack.

Adeline sighed in annoyance as she turned around at the sound of that voice because 1. when she heard a hostile voice, it was mostly directed towards her and 2. she recognized that voice almost anywhere. When she turned around, she was face-to-face with Antoinette.

Antoinette was the daughter of a rich merchant who was pretty with sun-kissed blonde hair and blue eyes, but she was a spoiled brat who often thought she could get whatever she wanted until she became deemed as "the rich men's whore" because of the many rich men in Gascony she slept with. Before, Antoinette was considered an angel, but when she got caught having pre-marital sex with one of the married noble men by his wife, a lot of people started staying clear from her after that. Adeline almost felt sorry for her because the girl did not have any friends, the only friends she had were those girls, who were with the girl at the moment, who were just using her, but she mostly pitied her than felt sympathy for a rich, spoiled daughter of a merchant like Antoinette.

It was pretty well-known throughout the province that Antoinette hated Adeline for multiple reasons, two of the reasons being that Adeline was beautiful and often got the men's attention more than Antoinette did and also that Gérard Leroy was completely smitten by Adeline. Antoinette was completely smitten with the comte's son, something that Adeline could understand since both of them were conceited, rich, spoiled jerks and, therefore, were made for each other, but Gérard had his eyes only for Adeline. It made Antoinette jealous of her and often made her lash out at her out of nowhere about "stealing" Gérard from her. No doubt, this confrontation was going to be about the same thing.

"What did I do this time, Antoinette?" Adeline asked in an exasperated tone.

"What does he see in you that he does not see in me? I am more beautiful, my father is rich, and I act more like a lady than you do," Antoinette started ranting off.

"If you call sleeping with other men lady-like," Adeline said, making Antoinette glare at her. "I am assuming you are talking about Gérard, right?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" Antoinette snapped. "You are such a harridan whore, stealing other women's men…"

"That's cheap coming from a whore herself, especially when I'm still a virgin and I am not going after a man that doesn't even want me," Adeline said.

"Oh, like you don't know!"

"Antoinette, for the last time, I did not steal your man, he was not even yours to begin with, and I do not like Gérard," Adeline snapped. "He is nothing, but an egotistical, sorry excuse for a man, and I do not want him. If you want him, then you can have him if you can, but Gérard doesn't like a whore. Do yourself and everyone else a favor and stop bothering me about him and stop going after a man that doesn't want you. Now, if you will excuse me…"

She walked past her, leaving an enraged Antoinette with her yelling out "man-stealer" to which Adeline responded with a roll of her eyes. That girl was always annoying, ever since the both of them were children. She came back to Max to find her and her uncle's sword polished and ready.

"I heard a commotion from the market as if someone was yelling, what happened?" Max asked.

"It was Antoinette, she approached me and started rattling off about me stealing her man, calling me a whore and a man-stealer when she was only talking about herself," Adeline replied. "I swear, that girl gets more insane everyday…"

"You mean you didn't hear?"

"Hear what?"

"The rumors."

"What rumors?"

Here, Max looked around before turning his attention back to Adeline and whispering in a low voice, "There are rumors that revolve around you and Gérard, saying that you two are now engaged to be married."

At this, Adeline felt her heart skip a few beats before she tried to relax. That was not true, she was definitely _not_ engaged to Gérard. They were only rumors and rumors were not true, right?

"Where did you hear this from?"

"I heard it from the eldest son of the Leroys, Aimeri, I think."

"The rumors are obviously not true, Gérard probably put his brother up to it to spread the rumors of that ridiculous fantasy of his," Adeline said with confidence.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Adeline, Gérard was with him and he kept on bragging about how he had the most beautiful woman in all of Gascony," Max said. "When I asked, Aimeri told me that your uncle came to their house and asked Monsieur Leroy for an arranged marriage between you and Gérard."

Adeline shook her head no, not believing it to be true, but then she remembered the look on her uncle's face when he came home today at one in the afternoon, like he was guilty about something, and he wouldn't even look at her in the eye when he would talk to her. She didn't want to believe that her own uncle would send her off to be married to someone like Gérard, she couldn't believe it, but Max was a calculating man, he was able to tell the difference between a lie and a truth. She trusted his integrity, and it scared her to know that the possibility of her being engaged to Gérard Leroy was true. She had to go home as quickly as possible to make sure.

"Thank you, Max, here's your money," Adeline said as she handed him the payment.

"May God be with you, my child."

"God has abandoned me, if these rumors are true."

She then took the swords from Max and got back on Buttercup, galloping as fast as the horse could go back home. She did not put Buttercup in the barn, like she normally would; instead, she stopped right in front of the house and immediately got off of her and ran into the house.

"Mama! Uncle!"

"In the kitchen, darling," came her mother's reply.

Adeline came into the kitchen where her mother was cooking dinner and her uncle was looking over some papers. When Adeline stepped in, Damien saw the look on her face and realized with a quake of his heart that she knew. He should have known better that by sending her into town to run errands for him, Adeline would find out, but he sent her out there to give himself enough time to tell her. Now, he was just going to have to come out with it.

"Adeline, are you okay? You look flustered," Céline said.

Céline, who was now a forty-two year old woman, almost looked the same fifteen years ago with the flaming orange-red hair, but the wrinkles on her forehead were a little obvious as she looked at her daughter in concern.

Adeline ignored her mother as she kept her eyes on her uncle and asked him, "Are they true?"

Damien didn't say anything, he just stared at his niece, not sure what to say.

"Adeline, what are you talking about?" Céline asked.

"Are the rumors true, uncle?" Adeline asked him, continuing to ignore her mother.

"Sweetie, you are tired, you need to sit down," Céline said as she approached her daughter. She tried to get her to sit down, but Adeline shook her hand off her arm.

"No, I want to know if I am engaged to Gérard Leroy or not, tell me the truth, uncle," Adeline demanded.

After a few minutes, Damien finally said, "Yes, the rumors are true, you are engaged to Gérard Leroy."

Adeline felt a surge of anger course throughout her body before she finally exploded. "How could you do such a thing? And without my consent?" she yelled.

"Adeline, I'm sorry, but I had no other choice," Damien tried to explain. "If anything—"

"No other choice? You could have picked a different option, you could have sent me to the city and I would have found a job!" Adeline cried. "Marrying me off to that rich, snobby asshole was not your only option, and you had no right to do that without my consent."

"Adeline, you are not the head of this house, I am. Whatever I say goes," Damien said, getting quite angry by his niece's attitude.

"Oh, is it because you are a man and I am a woman? That I am not capable of taking care of myself and the family like a man can? I am not some livestock you can just sell off somewhere, uncle!"

"Damnit, Adeline, enough!" Damien shouted, slamming his fist on the table, standing up from his seat. "Your mother and I made this decision together because we wanted to do what was best for this family."

Adeline looked at her mother with a look of betrayal on her face.

"This was your idea?"

"It was both our idea," Céline said. "Adeline, I am so sorry, we were only trying to do what was best for you."

When Céline saw the tears in her daughter's eyes, she tried to comfort her.

"Oh, ma chérie…" she said as she tried to put her arms around her, but Adeline responded by backing away from her.

"No, you only did what you thought was best for _you_."

"Adeline, please be reasonable," Damien said in a calmer tone. "I am only trying to ensure the safety of my family. If I ever die, you and your mother would lose this land and house and be living in a hedgerow."

"Better a hedgerow than being Gérard Leroy's wife…"

"Adeline!"

"Alright, young lady, that is enough!" Damien snapped. "I will not have you let your mother suffer because of your own selfishness, you are to marry Gérard Leroy, and that is an order!"

"And why should I listen to you?" Adeline challenged.

"Because I am your uncle and you are a part of this family!"

"Family? I stopped being a part of this family the minute both of you betrayed me," Adeline said.

The words had cut deeper into the hearts of the two adults, but mostly Céline as tears were running down her cheeks. Adeline threw her uncle's sword at the table, which bounced off and crashed onto the floor, but Damien did not bother picking it up, he found himself too stunned to even bother about it. His niece then turned around and started walking out of the house.

"Adeline, wait! Please, don't go!" Céline begged as she followed her. "Adeline! Adeline!"

There was the sound of hooves running off, and Damien knew his niece was now gone. He let out a deep breath that he did not know he had been holding for a very long time and sank bank into his chair, putting his head in his hands. '_Lord, where did I go wrong?_' he thought. There was the sound of footsteps and he looked up from his hands and saw his beloved standing in the doorway, tears streaming down her face.

"She's gone."

She put a hand over her eyes and her shoulders started to shake, and Damien got up from his seat again, walking around the table and pulling her into an embrace. Céline started to sob, and Damien tried to whisper reassuring words in her ear.

"I've lost my only child…"

"Do not worry, I will bring her back, I promise," Damien said.

He suddenly began to wish that Bertrand was still alive to make everything alright, but he was dead, so it was left to Damien to make everything alright. He just knew, though, that he couldn't make everything alright. The damage was already done, and he began to regret what he had done to his niece.

* * *

><p><strong>(1) I do not think Buckingham ever became an ambassador, but he often went on trips to Spain and other places to handle affairs, and in the movie, he went to France to handle an affair, so I only assumed that he was an ambassador. However, if he is not, then it is my fault, but he is an ambassador for now in this fic.<strong>


	5. To Be Gérard Leroy's Wife

**Summary: Adeline has always been considered a very spirited woman, even as a little girl, and has dreams of becoming a musketeer like her father, but as a woman, of course, she cannot be one. She has been in the care of both her mother and uncle ever since her father died when she was only three, and has been trained by her uncle to be the best swordswoman there ever was in history, but with Adeline 19 and no husband and the possibility of her uncle dying and losing the farm, she is to wed Gérard Leroy, her arch nemesis. But when the Comte de Rochefort comes in, invades her home, and kills her best friend, Henri, Adeline has sworn vengeance on him. Going to Paris to search for Rochefort, she ends up running into the three legendary musketeers known as The Inseparables and they all discover a plot to overthrow the King of France. Teaming up with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, Adeline tries to stop the evil, treacherous Milady de Winter and her employer from engulfing the whole world into war and destroying the very nation of France. Will Adeline and the three legendary musketeers be able to stop them in time?**

**Rated: M, just to be safe for about now for violence, language, sexual references, nudity, and sex scenes.**

**Timeline: 17th century. 1610 and 1628.**

**I do not own any of the characters from Summit Entertainment or Disney, except for Adeline and a few others I made in this story, Paul Anderson and Stephen Herek owns the rest.**

**Enjoy.**

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><p><strong><em>C<em>****_h_****_a_****_p_****_t_****_e_****_r_****_ Two: _****_T_****_o_****_ Be Gérard Leroy's Wife_**

Adeline had Buttercup gallop as far away as possible from her house, feeling as if her heart was torn in two by the betrayal her mother and uncle had committed. She did not want to believe she was engaged to that egotistical man and that this was all just some sick, twisted joke, but Adeline knew her mother and uncle would not joke about something like this.

She ran as far away as possible from her house, her intention to run away from Béarn and never return, but then she stopped, making Buttercup come to a halt. She began to realize the flaw in her plan in running away on her own. She had no money and there would be no place for her to work or live in; the only places she could work at was either in a tavern as a barmaid with very little income or out on the streets, and Adeline would drop dead before she would resort to _that_. An idea then formed into her head, and she turned Buttercup around, running all the way back to town. It was a few minutes later when she finally arrived at the local cathedral. She knew she should not have come here since this would be the first place her uncle would look for her, but her best friend, Henri, was a priest protégé here, and Henri was always there for her when things took a turn for the worst.

It was normally quiet in the church on a Monday afternoon, except maybe for a few people coming in to pray to the Mother Virgin and confessing their sins to the priest, but the church was completely empty, Adeline noticed, when she barged into the church. The only person that was present was Father Abélard who was standing on the altar. Father Abélard was a man in his early sixties with gray hair that was now starting to become thin, and he had gray eyes that were filled with kindness. He was a kind and understanding man, but he was a man of the church, and, therefore, strict. He was often nice to Adeline, but he disapproved of her behavior by telling her if she did not change her unruly ways, she was going to go to hell.

"Father Abélard!"

"Adeline? Are you okay, my child?" Father Abélard asked in concern. He was a little stunned, and quite aggravated as well, that his prayer was rudely interrupted, but if one of his people were in dire need, he would gladly help them right away.

"I need to see your protégé, Father Abélard," Adeline responded. "Please, it is most urgent."

Father Abélard, sensing the child's distress, figured it was best to do as she asked and get her friend, so he turned and left to find his protégé. Adeline waited for a few minutes and as she waited, she walked back and forth where she was standing, breathing heavily and trying to hold back her tears. When Father Abélard came back with Henri, though, Adeline just let everything go and ran to him, nearly tackling him as she embraced him and started crying.

"Adeline, what…?"

Henri, who was now a nineteen year old handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes, was shocked to find Adeline here, crying onto his robes. He did not know what to do at first because he knew his mentor disapproved of him touching this woman, the same exact woman who he fell in love with but she did not love him back. But this woman was also his best friend, who was now in distress, so he got over his shock and confusion, embracing her back. He whispered soothing words and rubbed circles on her back, just letting her cry. Henri knew that his mentor was probably giving him a disapproving look just for giving his best friend comfort and he was not surprised to look up and find stern eyes looking right back at him.

Father Abélard was the only person, besides Damien, Céline, and Gérard, who knew of Henri's feelings towards the young d'Artagnan girl. It had all started seven years ago when the two children were only thirteen, and it was during that time that Henri realized he was starting to develop feelings for his best friend. The feelings only got stronger as the months and years went by, and it was when that they both turned sixteen that he realized he was in love with her. Damien and Céline were the first to notice this and tried to encourage him to let his feelings be known, believing that if he and Adeline would ever marry, they would be an agreeable couple, but Henri was too scared at the time—and still was—because of his fear of losing his friendship with her. Besides, Adeline had made it clear she only wished to remain as friends. When he asked her what she would think if they got married, she had laughed at the notion, saying it would be too awkward and that it was best to remain as friends. Henri had been heartbroken at this, which gave a love rival hope that there was still that chance of having Adeline all to himself.

Gérard knew about Henri's feelings from the first moment Henri fell in love with Adeline, and he felt very threatened by him. Often, Gérard and his friends would go up to him randomly, threatening to hurt him if he did not stay away from Adeline and sometimes beating him up when he refused to do so, which made Adeline hate Gérard even more. Henri tried his best to fight for Adeline's love, but when it became clear to him that Adeline only thought of him as a friend, he gave up his dream of ever being with her and this had given Gérard hope, a hope that used to belong to Henri.

Henri thought that a life without Adeline was meaningless, so he had joined the church as a priest by the time he was eighteen to become a protégé for Father Abélard. Adeline never found out about her best friend's true feelings for her, and Henri hoped she would not, but he also hoped that he would have the courage to tell her one day. It was clear to his mentor about his feelings to Adeline, and Father Abélard did not approve of his protégé being around with the woman that he loved, he thought that it would cause temptation for him. From the look in Father Abélard's eyes, he knew that he was going to get a lecture about staying away from temptation after this before watching his mentor leave and go back to praying at the altar.

Henri and Adeline stood there holding each other for at least five minutes until Adeline finally pulled away. "What is wrong? What happened?" Henri asked.

"My uncle…he went up to Monsieur Leroy," Adeline said in between sobs. "He went up to him and offered an arranged marriage between me and Gérard, and now I am engaged to—to that fiend."

Henri was shocked to hear the news Adeline just announced, not really understanding why Damien had gone to the Leroys to give his niece up to them when he made it perfectly clear that he did not want Adeline married to Gérard. He did not understand it at first, but then he thought about it more and realized the reason why. However, he also felt another feeling inside of him with Damien choosing Gérard Leroy as the only candidate for a husband, he wasn't exactly sure what it was. Hurt? Anger? Jealousy? Disappointment? He was not too sure.

"I do not know why Uncle Damien would do something like this, he said he was trying to do what was best for the family, but he did not stop to think about what was best for me," Adeline said as she sat down in the pew with Henri sitting right next to her. "He did not have to sell me and send me off to the slaughter house like I am some kind of animal." She then looked up at Henri with hope in her eyes, and Henri just got a bad feeling of what she was about to say next. "Run away with me."

"What?"

Henri looked at his best friend in shock, not really believing what he just heard.

"Run away with me," Adeline repeated. "Come with me to the city, to Paris, where we can be away from Gérard and everyone else, they will not find us there and I will not have to marry Gérard. You can still be a priest and I can become a musketeer. I'll cut off my hair and bind myself to keep my gender hidden, but I do not want to leave Béarn without you. Please come with me, Henri, I cannot leave this place without my best friend."

Henri had dreaded what she had said to him. He had a feeling it was coming, but he did not know how much it would cause the lump in his throat to swell up and he had to fight back the tears just so Adeline would not see his emotions. What Adeline offered to him was tempting, and it made him believe that there was still hope of them being together, but Henri had given up on that hope a while ago. It was also dangerous for him to accept it because he knew of the consequences of a priest running away with a woman, who was engaged, for both him and Adeline. He did not want that to happen to her and he refused to let it happen to her.

"I am sorry, Adeline, but I cannot," he answered.

"What? Why?" Adeline asked, looking dejected, the hope in her eyes dimming.

"I am sorry, but I just cannot do it. Think of the consequences of what will happen if we did runaway together."

"It will not happen if we just explain to them that we are only friends…"

"It is not that simple, Adeline. No matter what you tell them, in their eyes, you will be nothing but a whore whose soul is damned. They will brand you and then cut off your head, I do not want that happening to you."

"Then I shall go to Paris by myself, they will not punish me so severely for running away by myself and becoming a musketeer."

Adeline made to get up, her intention to get out of there and get to Paris as soon as possible, but Henri stopped her. "Adeline, wait, you cannot do this!" he said.

"Why not? It is what I always wanted, that life has to be better than being the wife of Gérard Leroy!"

"That may be so, Adeline, but you have to remember, all life is suffering, we do not always get what we want in life. You also have to remember the consequences of such a crime if you were ever to be caught. You would be ridiculed in front of your comrades and sent back home and no man would want to marry you after that. And by the time your uncle dies, you and your mother would lose the farm and be out on the streets."

"But…"

"No, listen to me. I refuse, as a friend," and also as someone who loves you, Henri said in his head, "to let anything bad happen to you. You have to think more clear and think of the consequences, Adeline, I know you are not happy with your uncle's decision and I am not either, but you have to think more logically. Your uncle was only trying to protect you and make sure you are taken care of."

Henri had a hard time just saying this, but he had to do what was best for the both of them. He was thankful that Adeline seemed to see the flaws in her plan, but she still seemed reluctant to marry Gérard. He did not blame her.

"But why did he have to make me the fiancée of Gérard Leroy? Why could he not have just chosen someone else?"

"Maybe he did, but they just were not allowed to or were not willing to take the offer."

Adeline sighed before she started crying again. "I hate my life," she said as she buried her face in her hands. "Why could I not have been born a boy?"

Henri pulled her into a comforting hug again, letting her cry into his robes and as he did, both him and Adeline did not notice Pierre and Gérard walk out of one of the side doors on the altar. When the young Leroy saw it was his fiancée that Henri was holding, he immediately got angry. _No one_ touched anything that belonged to him.

"Get your hands off of her!" he shouted as he shoved Henri away from Adeline.

"Gérard!"

"Monsieur Leroy!"

Gérard ignored the calling of his names as he had grabbed Henri by the collar of his robes, nose-to-nose with him and threatening him in a low tone, "If you ever lay a hand on my fiancée, I will kill you."

"Monsieur Leroy, please tell your son to remove his hands from my protégé and to practice controlling his temper," Father Abélard snapped.

"My apologies, father, I will do it at once, it will not happen again," Pierre said before turning his attention to his son. "Gérard, let go of the father's protégé, we can have Father Abélard punish him for touching your fiancée. You will punish your protégé, won't you, father?"

As a man of God, Father Abélard was not a man of violence. He preferred to use lectures to get through to them, so he did not like to use severe punishments to discipline his pupils, but he knew that Pierre Leroy was a man of violence and liked to use severe punishments to discipline his wife and children. He did not respect the elder Leroy very much, but a part of him was frightened by the comte's power, so he did not speak against him.

"Of course, Monsieur, I will teach him the consequences against a blasphemy act," Father Abélard responded. Pierre did not know _how_ he was going to punish him, though the answer did satisfy the elder Leroy. This also calmed Gérard down, for he let go of Henri's robe and backed away from him.

It was Adeline's turn to say something. "If _you_ ever speak to Henri in such a way, _I _will be the one that kills you."

"He was touching my property," Gérard defended himself. "You belong to me, and I do not want this _man_…" He said the word "man" in disdain, looking Henri up and down as if he did not think of him as one. "…touching you."

"I do not belong to you yet, I am only your fiancée, after all," Adeline pointed out. Having herself admit to this man that she was going to belong to him soon made her want to hurl.

"That may be true, Mamoiselle d'Artagnan, but this is your fiancé and he will be your future husband, so I suggest you try to hold that unruly tongue of yours," Pierre said in a threatening tone. "I am sure you are well aware of the punishments I give to rowdy women such as yourself."

"I am very well aware of them, Monsieur Leroy," Adeline said to him, crossing her arms and glaring at Pierre.

"Then you will do well to be an obedient, docile, and dutiful wife to my son," Pierre said, "because the consequences may be severe for you if you do not. I will expect you in my house properly dressed tomorrow morning, au revoir." He indicated Gérard to follow him and they left, but not before Gérard glared at Henri as if to remind him of his warning to stay away from Adeline.

Once they were gone, tears started brimming in Adeline's eyes again. "I do not think I can go through with this, Henri," she said to her best friend once Gérard and Pierre were gone. "I would rather suffer a million deaths than be married to Gérard."

"I know you would, but do you really want your mother to suffer and die out on the streets and have people walk by and spit on her dead corpse?" Henri asked.

"No, of course not," Adeline said immediately. Despite her being angry at her mother right now, she still cared for her and would hate to see her mother be treated as if she was nothing but dirt.

"Then stop thinking about this being for you and start thinking about this being for your family."

Adeline sighed in defeat, wishing even more that she were a boy. "If only marriage was not my only option to protect them," she said. She then turned around and left, leaving a saddened Henri behind as he watched her leave.

Henri had never seen Adeline act so down and heartbroken, already willing to give up. She was never like that when they were younger. Henri always remembered when they were children how stubborn Adeline was; she was always the one to never give up so easily and persevere through, so to see her giving in so quickly was heartbreaking, especially to someone like Gérard. Henri was really starting to miss the old Adeline.

* * *

><p>Damien had put Céline to bed after an hour of crying and then falling asleep on his shoulder fifteen minutes later. He carried her up the stairs to the master bedroom and tucked her in, and he was getting ready to leave to go find his niece when he heard the sound of hooves approaching the house. '<em>Who could be coming here? It is a quarter to five<em>,' Damien thought as he looked outside the bedroom window to see who was coming. When he recognized that the horse the person was riding was Buttercup, his heart leapt with joy as he realized it was Adeline. She had come back! She must have talked to Henri, who brought her back to her senses and told her to come back here.

When Damien ran out of the house to greet her, she did not acknowledge him as she galloped past the house and into the stables with the other horses. Damien followed her there.

"Adeline! Adeline, thank heavens you are alright," Damien said in relief as he pulled her to him and held her in his arms. Adeline did not return the hug, to which Damien took note of. "Is everything alright?"

"No, everything is not alright," Adeline responded as she pushed her uncle away, "I just recently found out that I have been sold like I am some sort of cattle, and there is nothing I can do about it."

"Look, Adeline, I am sorry for what your mother and I did to you, we both completely regret it," Damien said. "It is just that there was no other option we had."

"I am not mad at you for trying to protect me and maman," Adeline said, "I appreciate that, but the fact remains that you knew how this engagement with Gérard was going to affect me, and yet you choose to ignore that."

"Adeline, I tried everyone, but Gérard," Damien said. "I asked every possible suitor if they would take you as a wife, but they all turned me down. I would have asked Henri, if I could, but he is in training to be a priest."

"I know you did, and I appreciate it, but I do not appreciate the fact that you gave me away to Gérard," Adeline replied.

"Adeline…"

"I am sorry, uncle, but that is something I can never forgive you for. Do not expect me to talk to you for the rest of my miserable life."

And without even letting her uncle respond, she left.

Damien would have gone after her and try to fix things with her, but he just stood there, feeling between stunned and hurt, but mostly hurt. Hurt because his niece could not find it in her heart to forgive what he and Céline had done and stunned because he never expected something like this to happen. He should have known better that the outcome of this engagement would end up like this, but it still made his heart ache. How he wished to go back and fix things, but all he could do now was hope that one day, Adeline would forgive him.

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><p>It was the next day and Adeline was getting ready for her appointment at the Leroys. Reluctantly, Adeline had put on a white dress with a faded red color bodice, it was certainly not decent enough for the Leroys, but it was the only dress she had since she always wore trousers. She was now brushing her hair, though she was not sure why she was even bothering to brush her hair since her hair just stayed untamed and curly. It was as she was doing this that her mother stepped into her room.<p>

"Adeline, do you need help with that?" she asked. Adeline did not answer, she just continued brushing her hair until she put her brush down and started braiding it.

Céline tried again. "Adeline, why not leave your hair down today? You were always beautiful with your hair down."

Adeline continued to ignore her, and Céline could feel her heart tighten against her chest. Damien had told her about what Adeline had said to him last night when she came back home, and he warned her that she might do the same to her, but it still hurt that her daughter would do this.

"Adeline, please do not resort to this, I know what your uncle and I did was wrong and we are both sorry for what we did, but please do not treat us like this."

Céline was not sure if she saw it, but from what she could tell from the mirror, there were tears glistening in Adeline's eyes. She only saw a glimpse of it, though, for they disappeared quickly as soon as they came.

"Please, mother, just go away," Adeline said, her voice trembling as she said this. When Céline did not leave right away, she got snappier. "Go away!"

Céline flinched at the outburst and could feel tears glisten in her eyes after awhile, but none fell from her face as she held them back. She would have tried again, but she knew it was useless. When her daughter's mind was set, it was set. She left without another word, closing the door behind her as she did and walked away from her daughter's room, hearing the distinct sound of her daughter's sobbing from behind the door. The sound nearly broke Céline's heart in two.

She arrived downstairs, making her way to the kitchen when she stopped at the dining room. Inside the dining room, she could see Damien sitting at the table with his head leaning on his left hand, looking as if he had the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. She approached him and it was not until she put a hand on his shoulder that he finally noticed her presence.

"She is not talking to you either?"

Céline shook her head no to indicate that he was right, trying her best to hold back the tears, but a tear escaped and fell down her cheek. "I do not know what is worse, mon amour," she said as she sat down in the chair next to Damien, "nearly losing my baby girl or her not speaking to me."

Damien put a comforting hand over her left hand, and Céline looked up at him in the eye.

"Things will get better in time, just be patient."

"If only it were that simple," was Céline's response. It was then that they heard the sound of someone approaching their house.

"Who could it be this time?" Céline asked as she wiped her tears away.

Damien did not answer, he got up from his seat and walked out to the front of the house to check it out with Céline following him. Down the path, they could see one of the Leroys' carriages approaching them and from what they could see through the windows, there was no one in there.

"Why did Pierre send a carriage here? I thought you were going to drop Adeline off at their estate…" Céline said, sounding confused.

"I thought I was too," Damien said, sounding just as confused as she was.

The carriage started to slow down as it came closer to the house before coming to a halt right in front of them. Damien started walking to the carriage as the coach driver climbed down from the seat of the carriage and walked towards Damien, the both of them meeting halfway.

"Good morning, monsieur."

"Good morning, Monsieur d'Artagnan," the coach driver said with a bow. "I am sorry for the surprise visit, but my lord has decided to change his plans at the last minute…"

"That sounds like Leroy," Damien interrupted under his breath.

The coach driver glared at him before continuing, "He sent me here to pick up the bride-to-be and bring her to his estate."

"By herself?" Damien asked in an incredulous tone. "I thought I was to be the one to take her there."

"My lord has urgent business with you today, and he feels like he cannot wait for you any longer," the coach driver responded. "And do not worry if you are worried about her getting hurt, nothing bad will happen to your daughter, the estate is only next door, after all."

"Did your lordship tell you what kind of urgent business he has with me?" Damien asked.

"I am afraid he did not give me that information, Monsieur d'Artagnan, but he did tell me to tell you to meet him at the cathedral to talk with Father Abélard, I am assuming it has to do with the wedding date," the coach driver said. "It is essential for me to bring Mamoiselle d'Artagnan to the estate for her lessons, she has much to learn before she is to wed her fiancé."

Damien could feel himself getting quite aggravated right now. "If Pierre even thinks—"

"Damien, let the man do his job," Céline interrupted him, putting a hand on his chest to calm his temper down, "he is only doing as he is told."

Damien's lips tightened in anger before he finally said, "I'll go get Adeline," and then turned around to go back into the house to get his niece.

"I am sorry for my brother-in-law's behavior, this news was just unexpected and it is…difficult to let go of our little girl…"

"Mamoiselle d'Artagnan is hardly a little girl anymore, and all little girls must grow up to be wives and mothers, Madame d'Artagnan," the coach driver said. "You did the right thing, your daughter would have grown up as an old maid if she had gotten a year older. She would have lost all hope of ever getting married after that."

'_You are a fool if you think she would allow herself to grow up as an old maid_,' Céline wanted to say to him as she narrowed her eyes at him. Her polite, lady-like side, though, prevented her from doing so.

Damien and Adeline came out of the house a few minutes after that. The coach driver opened the carriage door for the latter as she approached, offering her his hand, but she only ignored it and helped herself into the carriage. The coach driver looked annoyed by Adeline's rudeness, but he just ignored it for now as he closed the door after she got in.

"What time do we expect her back home?" Céline asked.

"You will expect Mamoiselle d'Artagnan back home after dinner, my lady, Madame Leroy, wishes to teach her how to behave properly at the dinner table," the coach driver answered. "My lord also has a guest for dinner tonight, and he wishes to see how well Mamoiselle d'Artagnan progresses…"

"I see," Damien responded coolly. But in the back of his mind, he was actually saying, "To see how well she progresses, my arse…" He kept that thought to himself, though. "Did Monsieur Leroy extend the dinner invitation to the bride-to-be's guardians?"

"He did not say, but if you wish to join, you could take it up with my lord when you see him at the cathedral."

"I most certainly will, thank you," Damien said in a clipped tone. "Good day, monsieur."

"Good day, Monsieur d'Artagnan," the coach driver said, whipping the horses and riding away with Adeline. The two adults then watched the carriage drive out of sight back to the Leroy estate.

"If I did not know any better, then I say Pierre was sending Adeline to his estate so we will not know what goes on behind closed doors," Damien said.

"You do not think he would…?" Céline said as her eyes went wide with fear.

"You and I both know he would, you have seen it with Médée."

"We should go after them, make sure Pierre does nothing to hurt her."

"No, I am meeting with Leroy at the cathedral, I will talk to him," Damien said as he turned around to go back inside the house.

"What are you going to say to him?" Céline asked as she followed him.

"Something he will never forget."

* * *

><p>As Adeline sat in the carriage that took her to her only possible future—and death—feeling every bump on the road, her stomach just got sicker and sicker as she got closer to the Leroy estate, almost feeling as if she had to hurl. She just wanted to jump out of this moving vehicle and run back to her home, but the coach driver would probably follow her back and then have her uncle force her back into the carriage.<p>

Her uncle and mother pretty much sold their own flesh and blood to the devil, and Adeline was angry at them for that. She remembered when she was fifteen that her uncle promised her he would never marry her off to her arch enemy, and it made her mad that he would go back on his promise. She did not know why she was even consenting to do this since she would rather cut off all her hair and disguise herself as a man to join the musketeers than marry Gérard, but Henri made her swore not to. Adeline was slightly angry that Henri would not run away with her to the city, but she tried to remember his reasonable words and pushed the feeling aside. It still did not prevent her from resenting her situation, though.

The carriage then started to slow down and came to a full, complete stop and Adeline heard the coach driver say, "Mamoiselle d'Artagnan, we are here."

Adeline sighed. '_Well, here goes nothing_,' she thought. The coach driver opened the door for her, helping her step out of the carriage where she stood in front of the Leroy estate for the first time.

Adeline had never been to the Leroy estate in the nineteen years of her life she has lived in Béarn, Gascony, she had only passed by it; she had seen Gérard and his other family members either at her house, the cathedral, or in town, but never had been close to the Leroy's estate as she was now. She supposed now that she was going to live in this place for the rest of her life when she married Gérard, she thought bitterly as she walked towatds to the house.

The house was almost considered a mansion, compared to Adeline's house with the two-story stone building, with what looked like twenty or thirty rooms and a double oriented door at the entrance. There was a three-step staircase that led to the double-door entrance where there was a maid waiting for her there.

"Hello, you must be Gérard's bride-to-be, Adeline d'Artagnan, I am Margret, the head maid of this household," the maid said in a friendly tone along with a pleasant smile and a curtsy. "Welcome to the Comte de Béarn's humble abode."

Adeline did not say thank you to the maid named Margret, but gave her a friendly smile back.

If Margret noticed her melancholy attitude, she did not mention it, for she said, "If you follow me, I will take you to Madame Leroy."

Margret then led Adeline inside and turned to the left to what looked like the adjoining room where Madame Médée Leroy and her daughter, Mary, were and they looked to be embroidering. Adeline had to refrain from rolling her eyes. She knew that when she became Gérard's wife, she would most certainly never embroider, it was such a horrible hobby, not to mention boring. Who would want to sit all day in chair, doing nothing but making clothes and having a needle prick your finger every few seconds? Apparently, Médée would.

"No, Mary, you are doing it wrong, it is like this," Médée said as she showed her daughter how to do it correctly.

Adeline figured that she was not the only one who did not like that certain hobby, Mary had such a miserable look on her face and she kept on flinching every time the needle would prick her finger.

"Urgh, you are so hopeless, Mary, how are you ever going to interest the vicomte's son if you cannot even embroider right!" Médée said in frustration.

Adeline felt sorry for Mary, she was such a sweet girl, but she had parents who only used her to show off to the world while showing her little to no affection. Mary was a sixteen year old girl who looked everything like her mother with her pale skin, blue eyes, and long straight blonde hair; the only difference between the two of them was their personalities. While Madame Leroy was cold and calculating, Mary was sweet and trustworthy, maybe a bit naïve, but she was still a good person.

It was here that Margret signaled Adeline to wait and entered the room and interrupted the two women by clearing her throat, making them turn their attention to her. "Madame, Mamoiselle d'Artagnan has arrived," she said.

"Oh, good, send her in," Médée said.

"Yes, my lady," Margret said, curtsying before turning back out of the adjoining room to Adeline. "The comtesse will see you now."

With her head held high, Adeline entered the adjoining room. Immediately, Mary's eyes had lit up with joy at the sight of her. Mary had always admired Adeline, and the two of them were good friends, but since Monsieur and Madame Leroy believed that Adeline would be a bad influence on their daughter, they never got to see each other very often.

Médée gave Adeline what seemed to be a sweet smile, but Adeline saw right through her and knew she was faking it. "Ah, Mamoiselle d'Artagnan," she said as she put the cloth she was embroidering down, standing up from the chair she was sitting in, "or should I say Madame Leroy? After all, you are my youngest son's fiancée and will soon be his wife…"

Adeline felt her hand twitch. She knew that Médée only said that to get a rise out of her, but she would not give her the satisfaction; instead, she said, "I prefer if you call me by my maiden name."

"Very well then," Médée said in a curt tone, obviously disappointed by the reaction she received, "but rest assured, that will change once you marry my son."

"Where is Gérard?" Adeline asked, wishing to change the subject on surnames for her.

"Out with his father, trying to set your wedding date, but do not worry, they will be back by dinner time. Speaking of dinner, you and another guest will be joining us tonight, so today's first lesson is how to have proper etiquette manners at the table."

'_You would think that I would know all of this stuff by now since I had a mother who was once a noble, but no, they think that just because I am a peasant that I do not know all this stuff!_' Adeline thought in frustration. She then noticed Médée looking at her attire as if it was the most disgusting thing in the world.

"Is there something you wish to say about my attire, Madame Leroy?" Adeline asked.

"You are not thinking of wearing something like _that_ in my house, especially when we have a guest tonight?" Médée asked.

"Well, I am sorry to say this, but this is the only dress that I have," Adeline responded. "Have you forgotten that my family is dirt poor and do not have enough money to buy the most exotic dresses in town?"

Médée got annoyed by Adeline's curt reply. "Do not take that tone with me, young lady, did your mother not teach you how to respect your elders?" she said. "As for your current situation, we will have to remedy that. Let's get you out of that ghastly dress of yours, no daughter-in-law of mine is going to be seen wearing _that_. Your mother obviously did not know how to take care of you properly."

"She has been a better mother than you," Adeline wanted to say, but she stopped herself in time. No good mother would make her daughter marry somebody they did not love. She then took a deep breath and followed Médée up the stairs to have her maids pamper her and then go over her lessons with the elder Leroy woman.

While Adeline had to endure this, she tried to remember that she was only doing this to protect her family, but she was again reminded of the fact that it was her family that put her in this situation and it only made her all the more angry at them for it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry if it took me so long to update this, but I have been busy. I kinda realize that I am really bad at regular updating :P. Hope you enjoyed it :). If you have any questions, just feel free to ask me or if you feel like critiquing me, go on ahead.**

**Next Chapter: Chapter Three: The Comte de Rochefort (;D)**


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